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fcibrarj?  of  Che  theological  ^emm< 

PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Rev.    Robert   B.    Sheldon 

BV   4501    .D62    1865                         ' 
Hamilton,    Gail,    1833-1896. 
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f^..3  1960. 
StUMBLING-BlcM^^'sal  stv\\^ 


GAIL     HAMILTON 

AUTHOR  OF   "country  LIVING  AND  COUNTRY  THINKING,* 

"gala-days,"  etc. 


BOSTON 
TICKNOR    AND    FIELDS 

1865 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1864,  by 

TICKNOR      AND      FIELDS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


FOURTH    EDITION. 


UNIVERSITY   Press: 

Welch,    Bicelow,    and    Company, 

Cambridge. 


Con 


TENTS. 


Pack 

I.     The  Outs  and  the  Ins i 

II.  The  Fitness  of  Things      ....            9 

III.  Ordinances 43 

IV.  Church-Sittings 82 

V.  A  View  from  the  Pews         .        .        .        .110 

VI.     Prayer-Meetings i49 

VII.  The  Proof  of  your  Love       .        .        .        .180 

VIII.     Controversies 224 

IX.    Amusements 260 

X.     God's  Way 300 

XI.    The  Law  of  Christ 323 

Xn.     Praying 35^ 

XIIL     Forgiveness 375 

XIV.    Error 388 

XV.  Words  without  Knowledge  ....    401 


THE    OUTS   AND    THE    INS. 


§)  HE  World  and  the  Church  are  two  op- 


posing forces.  To  make  everything 
move  easily,  the  Church  ought  to  be 
r^  entirely  composed  of  good  people  and 
the  World  of  bad.  As  matters  stand,  there  are 
a  great  many  sinners  in  the  Church  and  a  great 
many  saints  in  the  World.  Moreover,  the  people 
who  are*  good  are  not  good  all  the  Avay  through, 
and  the  people  who  are  bad  have  many  excel- 
lent qualities,  —  which  compHcates  the  case  still 
further.  Also,  the  Church  is  and  should  be  ag- 
gressive, for  the  avowed  design  of  its  Leader  is 
to  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  things  under  his 
feet.  But  its  chief  weapon  should  be  love ;  and 
because  it  will  not  confine  itself  to  this  weapon,  it 
is  far  less  aggressive  than  it  should  be.  Instead 
of  loving  the  sinner  while  hating  the  sin,  it  often 
falls  into  a  way  of  loving  itself  and  hating  the 
sinner.     The  World,  being  a  very  observant,  as 

1  A 


2  THE   OUTS  AND   THE  IN^. 

well  as  a  very  wicked  World,  sees  this,  and  falls 
to  making  reprisals.  It  gathers  together  the  sins 
of  Christians,  and  builds  thereof  a  bulwark  for  it- 
self against  Christianity,  behind  which  it  pours  its 
small  shot  into  the  Church.  In  all  this  the  World 
is  entirely  wrong,  though  the  Church  is  very  far 
from  right.  The  World,  in  the  first  place,  makes 
the  mistake  of  thinking  that,  when  a  man  "joins 
the  church,"  he  steps  out  of  the  sphere  of  ordi- 
nary humanity,  is  to  be  measured  by  different 
standards,  and  is  amenable  to  new  laws,  —  stand- 
ards and  laws  which  have  no  relation  to  other  men. 
His  faults  and  foibles  immediately  assume  a  new 
importance.  His  movements  are  watched  with 
careful  scrutiny,  and  criticised  with  rigid  severity. 
Failings  become  vices  ;  faults,  crimes  ;  and  an  im- 
perfect man,  a  hypocrite.  Constitutional  tenden- 
cies to  particular  sins,  formerly  unmarked  or  but 
slightly  noticed,  are  first  exaggerated,  and  then 
turned  into  an  occasion  for  innuendoes  and  sneers, 
if  not  against  the  Christian  religion,  at  least  against 
its  profession  and  its  professors. 

This  is  all  wrong.  It  is  founded  on  a  wrong 
idea.  What  is  it  to  "join  the  church  "  ?  "  Does 
he  profess  to  be  a  good  man  ?  "  I  once  heard  a 
person  ask ;  and  many  people  seem  to  fancy  that 
when  a  man  joins  the  church  he  professes  to  be 
good^  —  better  than  other  people;  and  they  ac- 
cordingly set  themselves  to  work  to  ascertain  and 
prove  that  he  is  not.     But  is  there  a  church  in  the 


THE   OUTS  AND   THE  INS.  3 

land  that  requires  its  members  to  make  a  profes- 
sion of  goodness  ?     I  never  heard  of  such  a  one. 
Those    who   enter  into  church  covenants  profess 
to  love  Christ,  and  promise  to  obey  his  commands, 
and  to  watch  over  each  other ;  but  I  never  heard 
a   sino-le  individual  declare   himself  to   be  good, 
holy,  righteous.     ''Joining  the  church"  is  rather 
a  profession  of  belief  in  and  love  of  God,  and  of 
an  intention  to  do  his  will.     This  is  done,  first, 
because  Christ  is  supposed  to  have  ordained  some 
such  profession ;  secondly,  because  each  man,  en- 
dowing   his    own    weakness    with    his    brother's 
strength,  is  supposed  thereby  to  be  better  able  to 
resist   temptation,    and    to   grow    in    grace;    and, 
thirdly,  because  the  Christianization  of  the  world 
is  expected  to  be  sooner  effected  by  ranging  the 
guns,   than  by  letting  each  man  fire  his  shot  at 
random.     I  know  no  other  profession  and  no  other 
purpose.     In  what  respect,  then,  does  this  place  a 
man  on  a  new  plane  ?     He  simply  promises  to  do 
what  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  every  human 
being  to  do.     No   possible  vow  can    increase   its 
imperativeness.     The  acknowledgment  of  obliga- 
tion does  not  create  obligation.     The  recognition 
of  relation  does  not  establish  relation.     Every  hu- 
man being  owes  allegiance  to  God.     All  that  he 
has  and  all  that  he  is  belongs  now  and  forever  to 
God.     No  contract  can  increase,  and  no  absence 
of  contract  can  diminish,  the  weight  of  such  ob- 
ligation. 


4  THE   OUTS  AND   THE  INS. 

It  follows,  then,  that  church-members  and  non- 
church-memhers  are  to  be  judged  by  the  same 
rule.  No  duties  are  incumbent  on  the  one  that 
are  not  incumbent  on  the  other.  I  do  not  mean 
to  imply  that  the  standard  by  which  Christians  are 
measured  should  be  lowered.  Lowered  ?  Heaven 
forbid !  No  one  is  in  danger  of  failing  because  he 
sets  his  mark  too  high.  The  grander  the  attempt, 
the  grander  the  achiev^ement.  It  is  only  by  fol- 
lowing on  to  know  the  Lord,  that  we  learn  to 
know  him  at  all.  Let  not  one  jot  or  tittle  be 
taken  from  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  ful- 
ness of  Christ.  But  w^iat  I  do  say  is,  that  a 
non-church-member  has  no  risht  to  consider  an 
act  sinful  in  a  church-member  that  would  not 
be  sinful  in  himself;  nor  a  sinful  act  to  be  any 
more  so  in  the  one  than  in  the  other.  If  it  is 
wrong  for  a  church-member  to  steal,  to  com- 
mit forgery,  to  drink  wine,  to  gamble,  to  pJay 
cards,  to  mend  his  tools  on  Sunday,  to  stay  away 
from  church,  to  be  crabbed,  fretful,  impatient, 
violent-tempered,  it  is  also  wrong,  and  equally 
wrong,  for  a  non-church-member.  For  a  man 
to  excuse  wrong-doing  in  himself,  on  the  plea 
that  he  does  not  belong  to  the  church,  or  to  exag- 
gerate it  in  others  on  the  plea  that  they  do,  is 
absurd.  He  ought  to  belong  to  the  church.  He 
ought  to  have  that  state  of  heart  and  will  which 
would  justify  him  in  joining  it.  If  it  is  the  duty 
of  one,  it  is  the  duty  of  all.     If  Christ  has  left, 


THE   OUTS  AND   THE  INS.  5 

and  if  the  history  of  the  world  gives,  intimations 
that  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  man  can  be 
best  promoted  by  organization,  tlien  it  is  the  duty, 
not  of  A  and  B  only,  but  of  the  whole  alphabet, 
to  organize.  If  A  and  B,  who  have  signed  the 
compact,  do  not  live  according  to  it,  it  is  not  for 
C,  who  stands  aloof,  to  complain  of  them,  or  to  ex- 
ult over  them.  His  own  guilt  is  farther  back  than 
theirs.  However  wrong  they  may  be,  they  have 
taken  one  step  towards  the  right,  which  he  has  not. 

If  two  children  in  a  family  sign  a  paper,  signi- 
fying that  they  will  love,  respect,  and  obey  their 
parents,  do  they  owe  love,  honor,  and  obedience 
any  more  than  the  other  children,  who  have  not 
signed  it  ?  If,  notwithstandhig  their  written  agree- 
ment, they  fall  into  disobedience,  does  it  indicate 
that  they  are  more  blameworthy  than  the  other 
children  who  also  fall  into  disobedience  ?  Not  at 
all.  It  only  shows  that  the  contract,  in  their  case, 
has  failed  of  its  intended  effect. 

Just  so,  it  may  be  said,  violation  of  church  cov- 
enant shows  the  invalidity  of  such  covenants.  It 
does  in  that  one  case ;  that  is  all.  It  indicates 
that  in  that  individual  the  principle  of  evil  has 
overleaped  the  restraints  ;  that  he  was  wrong  in 
supposing  that  he  loved  Christ,  and  willed  to  serve 
him ;  or  that,  loving  him,  it  was  with  a  faint  and 
fluctuating  emotion,  and  not  with  that  perfect  love 
against  which  the  waves  of  temptation  surge  and 
dash  and  break  in  vain. 


6  THE   OUTS  AND   THE  INS. 

I  do  not  propose  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of 
the  effectiveness  of  church  organization.  I  wish 
only  to  say  that  the  derehction  of  one,  two,  or  a 
dozen,  or  a  hundred  individuals,  does  not  show  it 
to  be  worthless.  So  long  as  men  liave  the  power 
to  deceive  themselves  and  to  deceive  others,  so 
long  will  there  be  many  in  the  church  who  are  not 
of  the  church.  In  order  to  demonstrate  that 
church  organization  is  useless,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  divide  our  country,  or  any  nominally  Christian 
country,  into  two  classes,  —  those  who  belong  to  a 
church,  and  those  who  do  not ;  and  then  to  show 
that  morality  and  religion,  purity  of  heart  and  life 
and  practical  benevolence,  are  equally  distributed 
between  these  two  classes.  It  may  not  be  that  this 
will  solve  the  problem,  but  nothing  short  of  this 
will.  Even  should  we  be  able  to  find  no  good  in 
such  organizations,  indications  of  Christ's  will  still 
remaining,  there  would  be  no  choice  as  to  our 
duty.  I  do  not  think,  however,  that  the  result  of 
such  an  investigation  would  throw  the  question 
back  upon  the  teachings  of  Christ. 

Again,  the  fact  that  a  man  commits  sin  after 
joining  the  church  does  not  necessarily  prove 
him  to  be  a  hypocrite  or  a  self-deceiver.  Sin  —  a 
sin  —  is  too  widely  spread,  and  too  deeply  rooted 
in  the  human  heart,  to  be  extirpated  in  a  moment. 
The  axe  has,  indeed,  been  laid  at  the  root  of  the 
tree.  Its  gnarled  trunk,  unseemly  branches,  and 
poisonous  leaves  have  disappeared,   and   the  man 


THE   OUTS  AND   THE  INS.  7 

fondly  believes  that  his  sin  will  trouble  him  no 
more ;  but  anon  green  shoots  sprout  up  round 
about,  showing  him  that  the  roots  are  there,  drink- 
ing in  sustenance  from  the  springs  of  his  life. 
Then  he  digs  about  them,  diving  deep  into  the 
soil,  undermining,  plucking  up,  trampling  under 
foot,  and  burning  ;  but  it  may  be  the  work  of  a 
lifetime,  and  never,  never  in  this  world  shall  the 
garden  of  his  soul  go  back  to  the  velvet  verdure 
of  Eden,  but  remain  a  rugged,  upheaved  patch,  — 
fertile,  it  may  be,  but  irregular;  productive,  but 
uncouth ;  a  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  but  not  the  land 
of  Beulah. 

For  it  is  the  baleful  nature  of  all  sin,  that,  though 
never  so  bitterly  repented  of,  it  leaves  a  scar. 

If  a  man  has  lived  in  selfishness,  if  he  has  rioted 
in  wine  and  wantonness,  if  he  has  found  his  pleas- 
ure in  heaping  up  wealth,  if  he  has  never  re- 
strained his  tongue  or  his  temper,  it  is  not  improb- 
able that,  after  his  conversion,  even  though  it  be 
real,  he  will  sometimes  lapse  into  his  former  wrong 
habits.  He  will  see  Christ,  but  it  will  be  through 
a  glass,  darkly,  and  the  glass  will  be  colored  by 
the  peculiarities  of  his  own  character.  The  ava- 
ricious man  will  have  many  a  hard  fight  against 
avarice,  and  will  perhaps  sometimes  succumb.  The 
untruthful  man  will  keep  out  many  a  lie  that 
comes  battering  at  his  barred  gate,  though  a  sly 
little  falsehood  may  elude  his  vigilance,  nay,  even 
take  advantage  of  it,  and  worm  itself  in  through 


8  THE  OUTS  AND   THE  INS. 

a  crevice.  The  World  will  not  see  the  many  con- 
tests, the  frequent  victories,  but  only  the  one  defeat ; 
and  seeing  this,  will  be  ready  to  exclaim,  "  If  this 
is  what  comes  of  your  Christianity,  I  am  very  well 
content  without  it.'* 

World,  you  are  in  the  wrong.  This  is  not  what 
comes  of  Christianity :  it  is  what  comes  in  spite 
of  it.  The  errors  that  you  see  result,  not  from 
Christianity,  but  from  a  deficiency  of  it.  The  man 
has  it,  but  not  enough.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say 
that  he  is  a  sinner  after  he  professes  to  have  be- 
come a  Christian.  You  must  show  that,  without 
it,  he  would  have  sinned  no  more.  Until  you 
know  what  religion  ha's  done  for  him,  as  well  as 
what  it  has  left  undone,  you  are  not  a  competent 
judge.  And  may  it  not  be  suspected  that  the 
extreme  alacrity  with  which  you  discover  and  ex- 
hibit his  errors  is  not  owing  solely  to  your  hatred 
of  shams  and  your  love  of  sincerity  and  truth,  but 
in  great  measure  to  a  strong,  though  perhaps  un- 
conscious, desire  to  justify  the  position  which  you 
yourself  have  adopted,  and  which  your  conscience 
continually  warns  you  is  an  unsafe  and  untenable 
one? 


II, 


THE    FITNESS   OF   THINGS. 


UT  however  wrong  the  World  may  be 
in  the  positions  which  it  assumes,  the 
Church  is  verily  guilty  concerning  her 
brother.  By  her  folly  and  her  wick- 
edness she  places  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of 
the  World.  By  setting  great  value  on  incidentals, 
s6ad  small  value  on  essentials,  she  confounds  moral 
distinctions,  and  offends  Christ's  little  ones.  She 
too  often  exalts  forms  and  neglects  principles.  She 
adheres  to  the  letter,  and  disregards  the  spirit. 

For  instance,  going  to  church  and  to  church- 
meetings,  maintaining  family  worship,  leading  in 
social  prayer,  reading  the  Bible,  committing  it  to 
memory,  warning  the  impenitent,  and  endeavoring 
to  lead  them  to  the  truth,  are  undoubtedly  right 
things  to  do  ;  but  they  are  not  proofs  of  Chris- 
tianity in  the  soul,  —  only  indications.  They  are 
the  incidents,  noi  the  essentials  of  religion.  We 
know  that  there  are  conceivable  circumstances  in 
1* 


10  THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS. 

which  a  man  can  be  an  eminent  Christian  without 
going  to  church;  but  no  circumstances  can  arise 
which  shall  render  Christianity  consistent  with  dis- 
honesty. A  cripple  may  be  a  saint,  but  a  thief 
never. 

The  incidental  is  not  objectionable.  It  is  good 
for  just  what  it  is.  Tithes  of  mint,  anise,  and 
cumin  are  due,  and  should  be  paid  promptly, 
fully,  and  cheerfully ;  but  these  being  done,  there 
are  other  things  which  ought  not  to  be  left  un- 
done,—  nay,  there  may  be  other  things  which 
should  have  been  done  first. 

The  letter  is  excellent  where  it  belongs.  It  is 
a  guide  through  a  wilderness,  the  director,  but  not 
the  source  of  strength.  It  is  a  watchword  in 
battle,  convenient,  generally  the  sign  of  a  friend, 
but  not  infallible.  It  is  a  body  for  the  soul,  a  fit 
residence  for  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
but  when,  instead  of  acting  in  the  capacity  of 
servant  to  the  spirit,  it  gets  the  upper  hand,  — 
when,  instead  of  being  informed  with  the  split's 
glow,  it  strikes  in,  till  letter  and  spirit  congeal 
together  in  one  frozen  mass,  —  then,  indeed,  the 
letter  killeth. 

Not  long  ago  I  read  an  anecdote,  in  which  a 
certain  faulty  Mr.  A.  was  rebuked.  He  was 
granted  to  be  upright,  benevolent,  charitable,  pa- 
tient,—  in  fact,  he  seemed  to  be  endowed  with 
nearly  all  the  Christian  virtues,  while  the  sole  per 
contra  was,  that  he  never  talked  to  people  about 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  H 

personal  religion,  never  conversed  with  them  upon 
their  own  salvation.  If  this  were  an  isolated  case, 
it  would  not  be  worth  while  to  animadvert  upon 
it ;  but  the  same  disposition  is  so  often  manifested, 
the  same  tendency  to  regard  a  constitutional  qual- 
ity as  a  fatal  sin  or  a  cardinal  vu-tue,  that  it  is 
worthy  of  a  moment's  attention. 

First,  the  man  who  has  professed  Christ  before 
men,  and  who  subsequently  leads  an  upright, 
pure,  and  blameless  life,  is  daily  and  hourly  and 
momently  preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified 
with  a  silent  power,  with  a  persistent  working 
force,  which  there  is  no  agency  in  earth  or  heU 
strong  enough  to  withstand..  And,  furthermore, 
if  all  Christians  would  lead  such  lives,  it  would 
almost  seem  that  not  one  word  would  need  to  be 
spoken  for  Christ,  —  that  the  glory  of  God  would 
be  so  revealed  in  his  Church,  that  men  would  flock 
to  it  as  clouds,  and  as  doves  to  their  window,  — 
that  this  city  set  on  a  hill  would  be  seen  to  be 
a  city  of  refuge,  whereunto  the  weary  and  the 
heavy-laden  would  flee,  and  find  eternal  rest. 

"Pure  religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and 
the  Father  is  this,  To  visit  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow  in  their  aflBiction,  and  to  keep  himself  un- 
spotted from  the  world."  Can  anything  be  more 
exphcit?  And  if  one  professing  to  be  Christ's 
disciple  fulfils  these  conditions,  who  shall  dare 
preach  any  other  Gospel  or  set  up  any  other 
standard  ? 


12  THE  FITNESS  OF   THINGS. 

Secondly,  religion  develops,  but  does  not  create 
faculties.  If  a  sinner  is  a  confirmed  tailor,  he 
will  not  turn  poet  when  he  becomes  a  saint.  He 
may  become  a  better  tailor,  but  he  will  be  a  tailor 
still.  If  he  is  a  shoemaker  by  nature,  he  will  not 
be  a  sculptor  by  grace.  If  he  has  been  witty , 
he  will  not  suddenly  discover  a  capacity  for  dul 
ness ;  and  if  he  has  been  stupid,  he  will  not  imme 
diately  astonish  you  with  his  brilliancy.  If  ht 
was  a  sociable  man  before  his  conversion,  he  will 
be  sociable  after  it ;  and  if  he  was  reserved  be- 
fore, reserved  he  will  continue.  There  may  be 
exceptions,  but  this  is  the  rule.  It  follows,  then, 
that  the  man  who  is  most  fluent  and  ready  in 
exhortation  and  prayer  is  not  necessarily  the  man 
who  lives  nearest  to  God.  He  may  be,  but  we 
cannot  from  such  facts  alone  infer  that  he  is. 
I  once  heard  of  a  woman  whose  Lares  and  Pe- 
nates were  disorder  and  un cleanliness ;  whose 
husband  and  children  were  squalid  and  repul- 
sive from  sheer  neglect ;  but  who  descanted  with 
unctuous  fervor  on  religious  topics,  and  when 
asked  by  a  modest  and  admiring  matron  how 
it  was  that  she  could  do  this,  "  It 's  grace,"  she 
replied,  complacently,  —  "  it 's  grace  that  enables 
me  to  do  it."  One  can  but  think  that,  if  it  were 
grace,  it  was  a  great  pity  that  grace  had  not  taken 
another  turn,  and  set  her  to  mending  her  family's 
clothes,  and  making  their  home  decent.  In  my 
opinion,  however,  it  was   not   grace,   but  some- 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  13 

thing  quite  different.  Of  course  I  do  not  mean 
to  say  that  a  clean  floor  in  your  own  house  is 
of  more  importance  than  a  soul  saved  in  your 
neighbor's  ;  but  Christ,  whether  his  favor  is  sought 
for  yourself  or  others,  is  always  to  be  sought  in 
the  way  of  duty,  never  out  of  it ;  and  as  it  is  a 
w^ife's  unquestionable  duty  to  attend  to  the  affairs 
of  her  household,  she  cannot  systematically  neglect 
that  duty  without  incurring  grave  suspicions  as  to 
her  Christian  character. 

This  is  not  said  in  any  captious  spirit  towards 
those  who  have  the  gift  of  tongues.  They  may 
be  the  very  best  Christians  in  the  Church.  Their 
power  may  have  received  an  additional  impulse 
from  religion.  Its  owner  may  have  cultivated  it 
all  the  more  assiduously  for  Christ]s  sake ;  and  if 
so,  he  has  done  well,  and  he  shall  not  lose  his  re- 
ward. I  only  wish  that  effects  shall  be  attributed 
to  their  proper  causes,  that  the  gifts  of  nature  and 
the  gifts  of  grace  shall  not  be  confounded.  Nor 
will  this  involve  any  derogation  from  the  latter. 
Nature  is  just  as  truly  from  God  as  grace.  Grace 
and  nature  work  harmoniously  together,  if  w^e  can 
but  ward  off  prurient  fingers.  Nature  furnishes 
the  foundation,  and  grace  rears  the  superstructure. 
This  is  the  point  I  aim  particularly  to  impress,  — 
that  when  religion  permeates  the  soul,  it  elevates, 
refines,  strengthens,  and  sharpens  the  powers  we 
possess,  and  not  the  powers  we  do  not  possess  ; 
that  some  are  naturally  orators,  and  that  others 


14  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 

are  not ;  that  while  some  can  preach  the  truth 
with  their  lips,  others  can  preach  it  only  with 
their  lives ;  that  this  distinction  is  not  superfi- 
cial, but  has  its  basis  deep  down  in  the  human 
heart ;  that  a  recognition  of  it  will  facilitate  the 
working  of  the  Divine  economy,  and  that  a  non- 
recognition  of  it  occasions  great  friction,  waste, 
and  trouble. 
I  have  heard 

"  Men  whose  life,  learning,  faith,  and  pure  intent 
Would  have  been  held  in  high  esteem  with  Paul," 

and  women  whose  whole  prayerful,  loving,  beauti- 
ful lives  were  a  constant  gospel,  lament  their  own 
inefficiency,  and  gaze  with  self-reproachfiil  admi- 
ration upon  those  who  had  this  gift  of  tongues. 
Dear  friend,  there  are,  it  may  be,  so  many  kinds 
of  voices  in  the  world,  and  none  of  them  is  with- 
out signification.  The  fair  temple  that  crowns 
the  summit  of  Mount  Moriah  went  up  without 
sound  of  hammer  or  axe,  but  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  dwelt  therein. 

In  a  great  machine  there  are  many  wheels  and 
pulleys  and  weights  and  frames  and  bands.  Some 
move  swiftly,  some  slowly  ;  some  with  a  ceaseless 
click,  some  with  a  heavy  thud,  some  in  unbroken 
silence  :  but  all  are  parts  of  the  same  machine  ;  all 
combine  harmoniously  to  the  same  end. 

Undue  self-reproach  on  the  part  of  silent  toilers 
is  not  the  only  or  the  chief  evil  resulting  from  a 


THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS.  15 

^ant  of  discrimination.  By  it,  the  strength  of 
the  Church  is  diminished,  her  working  power 
wasted,  and  the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom  de- 
layed. 

For  example:  there  is  a  deficiency  of  teachers  in 
the  Sabbath  school.  An  appeal  is  at  once  made  to 
the  Church.  The  low  state  of  Zion  is  lamented. 
The  activity  and  zeal  of  Christians  in  their  worldly 
calling  are  contrasted  with  their  backwardness  in 
the  Lord's  service.  Men  and  women  are  urged  to 
press  forward,  to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord 
against  the  mighty,  to  stand  in  the  breach,  to 
work  in  the  vineyard,  —  all  of  which  for  the  time 
means  to  come  into  the  Sunday  school.  No  stress 
is  laid  upon  qualification.  On  the  contrary,  dis- 
qualification does  not  seem  to  be  taken  into  tiie 
account.  In  fact,  nothing  but  impiety  seems  to  be 
recognized  as  a  disqualification.  If  a  man  has  the 
love  of  God  in  his  soul,  it  is  presupposed  that  he 
can  assume  and  successfully  maintain  one  of  the 
most  difficult  positions  in  the  world  ;  and  if  he 
should  be  reluctant  to  assume  it,  it  is  more  than 
hinted  that  his  faith  needs  inspection.  The  con- 
sequence is,  that  some  good  man,  of  tender  con- 
science, but  no  great  breadth  of  views,  —  desirous 
above  all  things  that  the  world  should  be  reformed 
and  renewed,  but  with  a  rather  vague  idea  of  the 
modus  operandi^  —  ignorant  of  the  science  and  in- 
experienced in  the  art  of  teaching,  but  fearful  of 
grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  and  discouraging  his  min- 


16  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 

ister,  —  mistakes  the  voice  of  God  in  liis  soul  for 
the  temptings  of  the  Devil,  and  takes  upon  himself 
the  charge  of  eight  or  nine  bright-eyed,  wide- 
awake, fun-loving  boys.  He  enters  upon  his  duties 
with  painstaking  devotion.  He  prepares  his  lessons 
carefully.  He  prays  over  them.  He  is  punctual 
and  constant  in  his  attendance  ;  but,  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts,  his  boys  harass  his  very  soul.  Some- 
times the  spirit  of  unrest  enters  into  them,  and  they 
are  full  of  "  quips  and  cranks  and  wanton  wiles." 
Again,  they  seem  to  undergo  a  transformation  the 
moment  they  enter  the  class,  and,  from  intelligent, 
lively  lads,  become  mute,  heavy,  stolid  lumps.  It 
is  a  pitiable  sight.  Both  sides  are  to  be  pitied, 
neither  blamed.  Human  nature  is  particularly 
strong  in  boys,  and  they  cannot  be  interested  un- 
less there  is  something  to  interest  them ;  but  hu- 
man nature  is  also  strong  in  teachers,  and  they  can- 
not interest  if  they  have  not  the  power.  The  boys 
and  the  man  were  not  meant  for  class  and  teacher. 
The  two  parts  do  not  tally.  The  wheels  move  in 
opposite  directions,  and  the  works  are  at  a  stand- 
still. This  is  not  the  way  to  do  things.  The  Jes- 
uits knew  better  than  to  squander  power  thus. 
They  recognized  the  eternal  fitness  of  things. 
They  selected  the  man  for  the  place,  and  the  place 
for  the  man.  Let  us  do  the  same.  There  is  no 
good,  there  is  infinite  harm,  in  attempting  to  put 
all  upon  a  dead  level.  It  is  a  fact  that  a  man  needs 
certain  qualifications  to  be  a  teacher,  just  as  much 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  17 

as  he  does  to  be  a  doctor  or  a  lawyer.  The  teacher 
is  born,  and  not  made.  All  the  learning  of  the  col- 
leges, all  the  training  of  the  normal  schools,  I  might 
add,  all  the  piety  of  the  churches,  will  not  supply 
the  place  of — hiack.  Without  this,  one  may  com- 
mand the  respect  of  men,  but  he  cannot  secure  the 
attention  of  boys  ;  and  to  be  a  good  teacher,  a  man 
must  not  only  secure  the  attention  of  his  scholars, 
he  must  possess  himself  of  them  body  and  soul. 

True,  the  greatest  genius  is  often  obscured  by 
over-sensitiveness,  and  belief  in  one's  own  inability 
is  not  infallible.  Those  who  have  been  most  suc- 
cessful in  a  great  work  have  often  shrunk  from 
entering  upon  it.  That,  however,  only  makes  vigi- 
lance the  more  necessary  on  the  part  of  those  who 
select  workers  in  any  department.  It  does  not 
countenance  an  indiscriminate  demand  upon  all 
for  all  departments,  or  for  any  department. 

True,  also, that  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and 
sucklings  God  perfects  praise,  but  that  is  no  man- 
ner of  reason  why  we  should  set  up  babes  and 
sucklings  for  our  preachers  and  teachers.  They 
perfect  praise  where  God  has  placed  them,  in  the 
nursery  ;  and  many  a  woman  will  perfect  praise 
in  her  household,  and  many  a  man  in  his  count- 
ing-room, when,  if  you  wrest  them  from  their 
appropriate  spheres,  and  plant  them  in  a  lecture- 
room  before  fifty  or  five  hundred  people,  or  in  a 
Sunday  school  in  front  of  a  dozen  children,  they 
will  perfect  only  platitudes. 


18  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 

I  know  that  God  chooses  the  weak  thmo^s  of  this 
world  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty,  but 
that  is  no  reason  why  we  should.  He  knows  what 
he  is  doing.  He  has  a  broader  horizon  than  we. 
He  sees  farther  and  clearer.  Strong  and  weak  are 
earthly  terms.  In  the  apparently  feeblest  engine 
there  are  hidden  forces,  —  hidden  from  us,  but  pal- 
pable to  the  eye  of  Omniscience,  and  only  waiting 
his  command  to  leap  into  mightiest  action.  This 
one  thing  is  certain.  He  never  fails.  He  never 
chooses  agents  too  weak  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 
His  causes  are  always  proportioned  to  his  designed 
effects.  His  means  are  always  exactly  adapted  to 
his  ends.  That  is  all  one  desires  the  Church  to 
do,  —  as  nearly  as  may  be  to  adapt  means  to  ends. 
But  so  long  as  we  are  human,  and  therefore  forced 
to  judge  from  appearances,  let  us  strive  to  balance 
weight  with  power.  Let  us  elect  the  brawniest 
arm  to  strike  down  the  stubbornest  foe,  and  the 
softest  hand  to  bind  up  the  sorest  wound. 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way, 
His  wonders  to  perform." 

Mysterious  to  us,  but  doubtless  perfectly  logical 
to  him.  Let  us  be  logical  too,  and  see  that  our 
premises  are  correct  before  we  confidently  antici- 
pate a  conclusion.  Trust  in  God  is  a  nullity,  if 
the  powder  is  not  dry. 

I  know  that  men  and  women  whose  bodily  pres- 
ence is  weak,  and  whose  speech  contemptible,  have 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  19 

consecrated  alike  their  weakness  and  their  strength 
to  God,  have  taken  up  the  cross  in  Sabbath  school 
and  conference-room,  and  have  brought  down  bless- 
ings on  themselves  and  their  neighbors.  So  your 
little  girl  comes  to  you,  ''  Papa,  Mamy  has  made 
you  a  purse  to  put  your  cents  in  "  ;  and  she  holds 
up  to  your  eyes  an  astonishing  specimen  of  needle- 
work, a  bit  of  brown  cambric  with  sprawling,  zig- 
zag white  stitches  of  variable  lengths  and  indepen- 
dent directions,  twisted  into  an  indescribable  shape, 
but  with  a  palpable  hole  in  the  corner  where  the 
cents  are  to  go  in.  You  take  the  little  sewino;- 
machine  in  your  arms,  smother  her  with  caresses, 
and  say  :  *'  Yes,  it  is  a  beautiful  purse.  Papa  must 
kiss  every  one  of  the  little  fingers  that  made  it. 
Just  see  the  cents  go  in.  There  now,  papa  will 
put  it  in  this  drawer,  and  when  he  wants  any  cents 
'he  will  find  them  in  the  little  purse  that  Mamy 
made  "  ;  —  and  Mamy  jumps  down  and  runs  away, 
her  little  heart  just  as  brimfiil  of  happiness  as  if 
she  had  indeed  bestowed  upon  you  the  purse  of 
Fortunatus. 

Just  so,  I  think  God,  our  Father,  in  his  infinite 
love  to  us,  in  his  boundless,  sympathizing  tender- 
ness, receives  the  work  of  our  hands,  according  to 
the  love  which  prompted,  and  not  according  to  the 
skill  that  wrou2;ht.  Blessed  be  his  name  for  ever 
and  ever  that  he  does  so ;  otherwise  where  should 
we  appear  ?  And  if  the  sole  result  desired  were 
the  beneficent  effect  produced  upon   specific  in- 


20  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 

dividuals,  perhaps  this  kind  of  cross  would  some- 
times be  as  effectual  as  any.  But  there  is  a 
work  to  be  done.  Growth  in  grace  is  not  the 
only  object  of  life.  A  soul's  salvation  is  the  salva- 
tion of  but  one  soul,  and  there  are  millions.  Let 
us  economize  our  forces,  —  economize,  I  say,  not 
squander  or  hoard,  not  cast  before  swine  nor 
hide  under  a  bushel.  There  are  mountains  to  be 
levelled,  ravines  to  be  bridged,  valleys  to  be  filled 
up,  rivers  to  be  spanned,  causeways  to  be  built, 
before  the  way  is  prepared  for  Christ's  coming,  — 
and  we  are  to  do  it.  Surely  it  can  best  be  done 
by  giving  to  each  man  what  he  can  do  best.  Let 
one  have  the  commissariat,  one  disburse  the  funds, 
one  collect  the  revenue,  one  arrange  the  work,  one 
instruct  the  ignorant,  one  wield  the  spade,  one  smite 
the  anvil ;  and  when  each  one  thus  does  with  his 
might  the  real  work  which  his  hand  has  found  to 
do,  then  shall  the  cry  go  up  consistently,  heartily, 
effectually,  "  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly." 

Personal  conversation  on  religious  topics,  or,  to 
be  more  specific,  personal  appeals  to  those  who  do 
not  profess  to  be  Christians,  is  a  matter  of  so  much 
importance  and  so  much  difficulty,  that  I  may  be 
pardoned  for  following  it  a  little  further.  I  have 
been  already  asked,  whether  I  do  not  think  pro- 
fessing Christians  are  greatly  deficient  in  tKe  mat- 
ter of  making  "  personal  appeals,"  and  whether  I 
should  not  regret  giving  comfort  to  the  Chris- 
tian who  goes  on  from  week  to  week,  and  from 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  21 

month  to  month,  and  from  year  to  year,  with- 
out once  speaking  of  his  own  love  to  Christ,  or 
commending  his  rehgion  by  word,  as  well  as  by 
example,  to  those  around  him. 

If  common  sense  were  brought  to  bear  on  this 
matter,  I  should  answer  both  questions  in  the 
affirmative  far  more  unhesitatingly  than  I  am  now 
able  to  do ;  but,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  com- 
mon sense  is  very  largely  dispensed  with.  What 
I  mean  is,  that  we  do  not  talk  about  religion  as 
we  talk  about  politics,  literature,  or  art.  Religious 
conversation,  as  a  great  many  of  us  conduct  it,  is 
formidable,  and  the  wonder  to  me  is,  not  that  so 
many  shrink  from  it,  but  that  so  many  can  be  found 
who  dare  to  grasp  so  unwieldy  a  weapon.  Ob- 
serve a  party  of  us,  —  sound  orthodox  people,  in  a 
bright,  cheerful  parlor.  We  are  merry,  gay,  social, 
piquant,  lively  ;  till  a  "  revival "  is  broached,  or 
the  state  of  the  Church,  or  something  else  of  the 
kind,  when  immediately  a  change  ensues.  We 
look  steadfastly  solemn ;  our  faces  elongate  ;  our 
voices  assume  an  indescribable  tone,  —  something 
between  a  sigh  and  a  moan.  All  vivacity,  spright- 
liness,  originality,  die  out.  A  stranger  would  take 
Christianity  to  be  a  very  doleful  affair. 

Why  should  we  do  so  ?  Why,  becoming  re- 
ligious, should  we  cease  to  be  natural  ?  Why 
should  we  walk  in  a  treadmill  of  set  words  and 
phrases,  —  forms  which  were  indeed  instinct  with 
life  to  those  who  originated  them,  but  to  us,  too 


22  THE  FITNESS   OF  THIXGS. 

often,  meaningless  and  cold,  —  the  dead  husk  with- 
out the  kernel  ?  Let  us  adopt  a  more  excellent 
way  ;  let  us  talk  of  religion  as  we  talk  of  other 
things,  —  naturally,  heartily,  vigorously,  —  saying 
what  we  mean  in  our  own  tongue  wherein  we 
w^ere  born.  Let  us  not  set  up  a  bugbeai',  and  then 
blame  timid  people  for  being  scared. 

You  have  seen  little  children  play  at  being 
grown  up.  You  know  what  demure  airs  they  put 
on  ;  nothing  can  equal  the  sobriety,  the  gravity, 
the  unmitigated  sternness,  the  unbending  severity, 
of  their  deportment.  We  laugh,  not  because  they 
are  such  clever  imitations,  but  such  charmingly 
ridiculous  caricatures,  of  ourselves.  Just  so,  it 
seems,  the  angels  must  have  many  a  laugh  at  our 
expense  ;  for,  ceasing  to  be  human,  we  do  not  be- 
come angelic,  any  more  than  the  little  ones  become 
men  and  women  when  they  cease  to  be  children. 
Putting  off  the  natural,  we  do  not  put  on  the 
supernatural,  but  rather  a  nondescript  garment 
suited  neither  to  heaven  nor  earth,  —  a  decided 
and  measured  mournfulness,  that  would  be  ridicu- 
lous if  it  were  not  harmful.  It  was  all  very  well 
for  the  mornincr  stars  to  sincr  toijether,  and  all  the 
sons  of  God  to  shout  for  joy ;  but  you  find  no 
such  irregular  proceeding  among  New  England 
Puritan  Pilgrim-Father  Orthodox  Christians. 

I  suppose  we  shall  all  be  considerably  surprised, 
when  we  get  to  heaven,  at  finding  things  there 
different  from  what  we  expected  ;  but  it  seems  to 


THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS.  23  - 

me  that  some  will  be  a  good  deal  more  surprised 
than  others. 

We  ought  at  all  times,  but  especially  wlien  we 
are  conversing  on  religious  topics,  to  banish  the 
cast-iron,  daguerrotype  look  from  our  faces.  We 
sometimes  fancy  that,  because  God  looks  at  the 
heart,  he  does  not  look  at  anything  else.  We  have 
positive  proof  that  he  does.  The  question  to  Cain 
was  not  only,  "  Why  art  thou  wroth  ?  "  but,  ''  Why 
is  thy  countenance  fallen  ?  "  A  proud  look  is  an 
abomination  to  the  Lord,  as  well  as  a  lying  tongue. 
Moreover,  the  heart  not  only  gives  expression  to 
the  face,  but  the  expression  of  the  face  reacts  on 
the  heart.  Try  to  scold  with  a  smile  on  your 
lips,  or  kiss  your  baby  with  a  frown  on  your 
brow,  and  you  will  be  convinced.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  feel  cross  while  you  are  looking 
pleasant,  or  disconsolate  while  you  are  looking 
cheerfiil.  So  with  the  voice  ;  let  it  be  natural, 
soft,  not  pitched  on  a  high  key,  nor  whining,  nor 
melancholy.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Bible  which 
requires  Christians  to  be  sad.  The  religion  of 
Jesus  wears  no  sombre  hue.  On  the  contrary, 
the  Scriptures  continually  teach  us,  by  precepts 
and  examples,  to  rejoice  evermore,  to  joy  in  God 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Who,  indeed, 
shall  be  happy,  if  not  those  who  have  jilaced 
all  their  hope  and  their  faith,  all  their  })resent 
and  all  their  future,  in  the  hands  of  Omnipotent 
Love  ? 


24  THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS. 

There  will  of  course  be  occasions  when  the  ut- 
most solemnity  of  voice  and  look  is  alone  fitting. 
I  deprecate  the  flippancy  and  thoughtlessness  with 
which  the  most  terrible  denunciations  of  the  New 
Testament  are  sometimes  uttered,  as  much  as  I  do 
the  lugubrious  cadences  with  which  its  sweetest 
and  tenderest  promises  are  pronounced.  What  is 
objectionable  is  the  one  aspect  put  on  for  all  occa- 
sions, whether  warning  the  careless,  or  directing 
the  inquiring,  or  comforting  the  desponding,  or 
instructing  the  ignorant,  or  congratulating  each 
other  on  the  wonderful  works  of  God.  What  is 
desirable  is,  that  the  tone  and  manner  and  expres- 
sion shall  be  dictated  by  the  love  or  faith  or  fear 
or  hope  or  sorrow  of  the  heart,  and  not  by  an  out- 
side conventionality. 

Another  suggestion  is,  that  we  should  not  draw 
so  exact  a  boundary  line  between  religious  and 
secular  topics.  We  fence  off  our  Christianity, 
and  deem  it  meet  to  drape  ourselves  in  ghostly 
garb  when  we  enter  the  sacred  enclosure.  Of 
course,  young  Christians,  and  old  Christians  too, 
judge  that  there  must  be  something  very  grand 
and  awful  to  demand  all  this  pomp  and  circum- 
stance, and  they  exceedingly  fear  and  quake.  It 
is  not  so.  Religion  is  not  a  thing  that  must  be 
veiled  from  vulgar  gaze,  and  watched  and  guarded 
lest  it  be  profaned.  It  is  itself  a  purifier,  conse- 
crating everything  that  is  brought  into  contact 
with  it.     It  is  not  a  garment  to  be  worn  carefully 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  25 

lest  it  be  soon  destroyed.  Rather  is  it  the  living 
skin,  constantly  renewed,  growing  w^th  the  growth 
of  bone  and  muscle  and  nerve.  It  is  not  a  tank 
whose  waters  must  be  economized  lest  the  supply 
fail,  but  a  fountain  springing  the  purer  from  being 
drawn  for  all  humble,  daily  uses.  It  is  no  electri 
fied  manikin,  shrivelling  at  a  touch  into  insensate 
shapelessness.  It  is  itself  the  very  electric  prin- 
ciple that  vitalizes  and  animates  all.  It  is  a  vigor- 
ous, hardy  growth,  not  a  frail  house-plant ;  there- 
fore bring  it  out  into  the  air.  From  shade  and 
shine,  from  storm  and  rain,  from  dew  and  frost, 
it  will  only  gather  strength.  Let  the  winds  rock 
it ;  it  will  strike  its  roots  deeper  into  the  earth. 
Let  the  sun  beat  upon  it ;  it  will  only  robe  itself 
in  denser  green,  and  bourgeon  in  gayer  hues.  Time 
can  but  toughen  its  fibres,  broaden  its  branches, 
circle  its  sturdy  trunk  with  signal  rings,  till  the 
tender  shoot  is  become  a  worshipful  oak,  and  sing- 
ing birds  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof,  and  men 
sit  under  its  shadow  with  great  delio-ht. 
Therefore  use  your  religion.     Use  it 

"  without  stint  or  spare, 
As  men  use  common  things,  with  more  behind  ; 
And  in  this  ever  4>ould  be  more  behind." 

Strive  to  get  acquainted  with  God.  Be  rever- 
ently familiar  with  him.  Do  not  confine  your 
knowledge  of  him  to  his  aspect  as  God  the 
Judge,  or  God  the  Saviour,  though  that  may  be 
the  grandest  of  all,  and  may  receive  your  highest 

2 


26  THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS. 

adoration  and  your  warmest  love.  Study  his 
ways  in  the  continuous  revelation  of  his  works, 
as  well  as  in  the  crystallized  revelation  of  his 
word.  See  God  the  artist,  in  the  sunsets  that 
gild  the  evening  sky ;  God  the  machinist,  in  the 
mechanism  of  your  own  body ;  God  the  benefactor, 
in  the  wonderful  laws  of  ice ;  God  the  chemist,  in 
the  laboratories  of  earth  and  air ;  God  the  histo- 
rian, in  the  record  of  the  rocks ;  God  the  builder, 
in  the  mountains  which  he  has  piled  up  to  heaven. 
See  God,  too,  in  the  thousand  little  happinesses 
that  cluster  about  your  daily  life.  It  is  God  who 
makes  the  outgoing  of  your  morning  and  your 
evening  to  rejoice,  just  as  truly  as  it  is  God  who 
spake  the  world  into  being.  It  is  God  who  folds 
you  in  happy  sleep  at  night,  just  as  much  as  it  is 
God  who  sent  his  Son  to  die  for  you.  God  speaks 
to  you  in  the  song  that  trembles  into  your  heart 
from  the  lips  you  love,  just  as  truly  as  he  speaks 
to  you  in  the  voice  of  his  thunders.  Warning  the 
impenitent  is  our  chief  idea  of  religious  conversa- 
tion, whereas  it  is  only  one  topic  in  a  worldful. 
Let  it  have  its  due  place,  and  it  will  be  less 
dreaded.  Let  us  talk  to  our  little  ones  of  God 
just  as  we  talk  to  them  of  their  father.  Let 
Christ-love  and  mother-love  grow  up  together  in 
their  hearts.  Learn  to  think  God.  Be  full  of 
God ;  and  out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  will  speak.  One  reason  why  we  find  it 
so  hard  to  talk  of  God  is  that  we  live  so  far  from 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  27 

him.  We  worship  him,  but  it  is  a  great  way  off; 
and  he  would  be  nigh,  even  at  our  own  doors. 
He  is  there.  Recognize  him.  Not  only  before 
the  gate  of  the  sinner  does  Christ  stand  w^aiting. 
It  is  at  your  door,  O  my  brother,  that  he  knocks. 
Open  it  and  let  him  in.  Take  him  to  your 
heart.  Believe  in  him.  Crown  him  King  there, 
at  the  centre  of  your  life,  and  all  the  outposts 
are  his. 

There  will  always,  probably,  be  more  or  less  re- 
luctance, hesitation,  diffidence,  in  conversing  about 
matters  wliich  pertain  to  the  inner  life.  Facts  are 
easily  discussed,  but  feelings  are  evasive.  Many 
a  man  can  give  you  a  full,  clear,  and  accurate 
account  of  the  state  of  his  business,  who,  if  set  to 
work  to  develop  the  state  of  his  mind  and  heart, 
will  stammer,  repeat,  blunder,  and  finally  fail  alto- 
gether of  his  end.  You  have,  I  dare  say,  often 
heard  of  people  who  "  could  talk  about  anything 
but  religion,"  or  about  religion  in  its  external  and 
organic  aspects,  such  as  churches,  benevolent  soci- 
eties, councils,  etc.,  but  as  soon  as  you  began  to 
speak  of  experimental  religion,  their  mouths  were 
shut ;  and  this  fact  is  generally  stated  in  a  manner 
that  implies  reproof,  — implies  that  the  reason  why 
they  say  nothing  is  because  they  have  nothing  to 
say.  It  is  a  subject  upon  which  they  have  no 
thoughts  and  in  which  they  feel  no  interest. 

This  may  be  true.  Undoubtedly  it  often  is 
true  ;  but  let  us  hope  and  believe  that  it  is  not 


28  THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS. 

always  so.  There  are  whited  sepulchres,  fair  in 
outward  seeming,  —  within,  full  of  dead  men's 
bones  and  all  uncleanness  ;  but  there  are  also  no- 
ble houses,  reared  by  wealth  and  art,  beautiful 
without,  but  more  beautiful  within  for  the  love  and 
faith  and  trust,  the  thousand  household  virtues, 
the  manifold  nameless  tendernesses,  that  make 
of  every  hearth  an  altar,  of  every  home  a  heaven. 
There  are  mirages  which  reveal  to  the  eye  of  the 
thirsty  traveller  the  sparkle  of  waters  tliat  he  shall 
never  reach,  —  the  greenness  of  trees  under  whose 
shade  his  weary  limbs  shall  never  rest ;  but  there 
are  also  oases  where  the  stately  palm  yields  her 
fatness,  and  living  springs  gush  forth  healing  and 
strength. 

So  there  may  be  men  in  the  Church,  but  not  of 
it,  who  adhere  to  the  organization,  obey  its  laws, 
contribute  to  its  support,  frequent  its  sanctuaries, 
and  call  its  members  brethren,  who  yet  can  never 
speak  of  the  love  of  God,  because,  deceiving  or 
deceived,  their  dry,  dead  bones  have  never  been 
vitalized  by  that  love  ;  but  may  there  not  also  be 
men,  just  as  exemplary  in  conduct,  just  as  chary 
of  words,  who  have  in  their  secret  souls  that  well 
of  water  which  shall  spring  up  into  everlasting 
life  ? 

For  religion  is  of  the  spirit.  True,  it  spreads 
its  broad  and  fruitful  branches  over  the  whole  life ; 
but  its  roots  go  deep  down  into  the  heart,  there,  in 
silence  and  darkness,  unheard,  unseen,  to  suck  in 


THE  FITNESS  OF   THINGS.  29 

the  vital  juices  wl]ich  are  to  supply  its  nourishment 
and  further  its  growth.  It  may  develop  itself  in 
churches  and  charities  and  exhortations  and  pray- 
ers, but  its  spring  is  in  the  heart.  There  it  works 
in  loving  tenderness,  in  sweet  repentance,  in  saint- 
ly sorrow,  in  heaven-born  aspirations,  —  and  a 
stranger  intermeddleth  not  with  its  joy. 

Is  it  not  so  ?  Can  it  not  be  so  ?  Must  silence 
always  indicate  vacuity  ?  Plow  do  we  judge  in 
other  cases  ?  When  a  man  loves  a  woman  with  a 
love  that  conquers  life,  does  he  tell  her  of  it  in  well- 
turned  periods  ?  Is  lie  ready  and  fluent  whenever 
occasion  offers  or  does  not  ofter  ?  Does  he  not 
rather  deal  in  broken  sentences  and  deHcious  si- 
lences ?  Do  you  not  even  go  so  far  as  to  suspect 
the  love  that  harangues  in  elegant  metaphors,  with 
faultless  rhetoric,  —  that  always  has  the  right  word 
in  the  right  place  ?  And  if  lips  are  sometimes 
sealed  when  a  human  love  is  strong,  can  you  not 
believe,  and,  since  it  is  your  brother  whom  you  are 
judging,  will  you  not  believe,  that  Christ-love  may 
also  consist  therewith,  —  that  the  silence  may  come 
solely  from  the  reluctance  of  the  heart  to  discover 
its  own  secret  workings  ?  This  may  be  only  one 
of  many  causes  that  contribute  to  the  same  result ; 
but  if  it  is  one,  it  ought  not  to  be  left  out  of  the 
account. 

Since  this  sensitiveness  is  a  natural  quality,  we 
cannot  destroy  it  if  we  would,  and  we  would  not  if 
we  could.     It  may  hinder  and  sometimes  prevent 


so  THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS. 

free  communion,  but  it  has  its  w»ork  to  do.  It  is, 
therefore,  to  be  managed,  not  defied,  or  overborne. 
It  follows  that  real  interchano;e  of  feelino;  on  rehs;- 
ious  topics  obeys  the  same  laws  that  interchange  of 
feeling  on  other  topics  does.  In  its  outward  mani- 
festations, in  its  practical  and  wise  benevolences, 
the  Church  can  band  together.  In  all  social  and 
kindly  offices,  its  members  should  prove  to  them- 
selves and  show  to  the  world  how  Christians  love 
one  another.  They  are  baptized  into  one  name, 
moved  by  a  common  love,  bound  by  a  common 
vow.  They  should  be  real  "  brothers  in  unity." 
But  further  than  this  they  are  not  required  to 
go.  Friendship,  confidential  outpourings,  the  ex- 
osmose  and  endosmose  of  souls,  is  a  matter  of 
magnetism,  not  of  morals  or  religion.  Respect  is 
awarded  to  worth  ;  excellence  wins  esteem  ;  but 

"  Our  likings  and  dislikings 
Have  their  own  instinctive  laws." 

Church-members,  like  others,  will  group  them- 
selves unconsciously,  according  to  hidden  organism. 
Money  or  learning  or  "  high  birth  "  does  not  decide 
it,  but  internal  construction.  One  man  is  indif- 
ferent to  circumstances,  and  can  unbosom  himself 
without  regard  to  time  or  place.  Another  must 
enter  into  his  closet  and  shut  the  door.  That 
closet  may  indeed  be  the  solitude  of  his  own  study, 
•or  the  circle  of  his  chosen  friends,  or  the  place 
where  heavy-laden  souls  cry  out  for  weariness,  or 
Christian  hands,  prayer-burdened,  lay  hold  on  God ; 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  31 

but  wherever  it  is,  it  must  be  in  the  atmosphere 
where  alone  his  soul  can  live,  and  move,  and  have 
its  being.  It  is  useless  to  demand  or  expect  oth- 
erwise, and  he  who  does  so  knows  little  of  human 
nature. 

Therefore,  if  a  brother  is  silent  when  you  would 
fain  have  him  moved  to  speech,  think  it  not  always 
because  he  is  not  a  Christian,  but  sometimes  simply 
because  he  is  not  you.  You  choose  your  own 
time  and  place.     Grant  him  the  same  liberty. 

This  sensitiveness  works  in  two  ways.  It  not 
only  restricts  Christian  intercourse,  but  it  renders 
necessary  the  utmost  watchfulness  in  deahng  with 
those  who  are  not  Christians.  Here,  alas  !  we 
often  fail.  We  are  not  delicate  and  wise  in  our 
modes  of  operation.  It  does  not  hurt  a  drum  to  be 
beaten,  but  a  harp  gives  up  its  soul  of  sweetness  to 
the  touch  of  dimpled  fingers.  Some  hearts  are  all 
out-doors,  and  some  are  a  labyrinth  in  which,  un- 
less you  get  a  clew-thread,  you  may  grope  forever 
without  discovering  the  secret  chamber  where  the 
Presence  sits  enthroned.  Therefore  be  wary,  be 
vigilant,  be  wise.  Feel  your  way.  Do  not  fire 
your  shots  at  random.  Your  object  is  not  —  ought 
not  to  be  —  to  discharge  or  exhibit  your  revolver, 
or  to  show  that  you  can  pull  a  trigger.  It  is  to  do 
execution,  —  to  bring  down  the  foe  that  is  leading  a 
soul  captive.  Take  aim  before  you  shoot ;  other- 
wise your  charge  may  go  crashing  in  among  heart- 
strings, and  still  their  quivering  forever. 


32  THE  FITNESS  OF   THINGS. 

"  Be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  is  an 
injunction  that  has  been  sadly  misunderstood  and 
misapplied.  There  are  good  people  —  the  Lord 
reward  their  unselfish  seeking,  and  not  visit  their 
blunders  upon  the  heads  of  their  victims  !  —  who 
fancy  it  to  mean  that  "  personal  appeals  "  are  al- 
ways in  order.  I  knew  a  woman,  bearing  now,  I 
doubt  not,  a  new  name  among  the  angels,  who, 
feeling  it  her  duty  to  admonish  her  neighbors  of 
theirs,  and  not  being  endowed  with  a  nice  sense  of 
the  fitness  of  things,  used  to  startle  her  friends  by 
the  most  unexpected  forays.  If,  at  a  social  gath- 
ering, she  saw  a  person  in  whose  salvation  she  was 
interested,  the  presence  of  one,  two,  or  a  dozen 
others  was  no  obstacle  to  exhortation.  "  Dear 
Mr.  A.,  won't  you  seek  religion?  Promise  me  that 
you  will  seek  religion."  I  have  heard  a  person, 
whose  own  heart  w^as  full  of  love  to  the  Saviour, 
ask  a  young  lady  sitting  next  him,  at  a  dinner-par* 
ty,  if  she  did  not  find  great  consolation  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  It  is  unne- 
cessary to  multiply  instances.  All  the  way  along, 
we  more  or  less  waste  our  strength  by  smiting 
when  the  iron  is  cold.  Yet  we  might  learn  a  bet- 
ter lesson  every  day.  The  children  of  this  world 
are  wiser  in  their  generation  than  the  children  of 
light ;  and  the  children  of  light  are  often  wiser 
about  everything  else  than  about  the  light  itself. 
When  your  little  three-year  old  trips,  night- 
gowned  and  barefooted,   into   your   room   in  the 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  33 

morning,  and  climbs  up  into  your  bed,  and  begins 
forthwith  to  plan  and  execute  surprising  excursions, 
planting  his  heel  upon  your  throat,  and  his  fist  on 
your  nose,  plumping  himself  down  at  irregular  in- 
tervals, entirely  oblivious  of  paternal  sensations, 
you  hardly  undertake  then  to  imbue  his  mind  with 
quiet,  loving,  religious  thoughts.  His  little  soul, 
fresh  from  long,  dreamless  sleep,  is  wide  awake. 
Every  nerve  and  fibre  of  his  body  is  quivering  with 
life,  and  harnessed  for  action.  So,  if  you  are  sen- 
sible, you  tumble  him  over,  and  roll  him  about, 
and  punch  him,  and  knead  him,  and  tickle  him, 
till  he  screams  with  delighted  laughter.  But  when 
he  has  danced  away  the  summer  day,  and  goes  to 
his  mother,  tired,  happy,  and  subdued,  she  takes 
him  in  her  arms,  and  tells  him 

"  That  sweet  story  of  old, 
How  Jesus  appeared  among  men," 

and  with  the  music  of  divine  love  murmured  into 
his  ear  from  lips  that  are  only  not  divine,  the  blue 
eyes  film,  the  silken  lashes  droop,  and  the  child- 
soul  wanders  off  into  the  land  of  sleep ;  but  the 
human  and  divine,  woven  together  in  his  heart 
forevermore  shall,  through  all  the  years  that  are  to 
come,  preserve  his  eyes  from  tears,  his  feet  from 
falling,  and  his  soul  from  death. 

If  you  do  not  learn  it  from  your  course  towards 
your  child,  you  may  learn  it  from  his  tow^ards  you  ; 
and  I  often  think  that  children   have  a  certain 
2*  c 


34  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 

fresh,  instinctive  knowledge  of  human  nature  that 
after  years  incrust  and  destroy.  When  you  are 
waiting  in  your  half-warmed  breakfast-room,  impa- 
tient of  delay,  and  anxious  to  be  gone  to  your  of- 
fice, your  boy  amuses  himself  as  best  he  can  ;  it  is 
w^hen  you  sit  by  your  evening  fire  in  dressing-gown 
and  slippers,  in  happy  quietude,  that  he  wriggles 
up  your  knee,  sits  astride  your  lap,  and  says  confi- 
d»3ntly,  '^  Noiv^  papa,  tell  me  a  story." 

All  the  way  from  infancy  to  old  age,  if  we  wish 
to  make  an  impression  on  hearts,  we  must  take 
hearts  when  they  are  open  to  impression.  I  do  not 
attempt  to  give,  and  I  do  not  think  there  is,  any 
specific  rule.  Every  man  is  constructed  upon  a 
different  basis,  and  must  work  and  be  worked  after 
his  kind.  Some  it  may  be  well  to  meet  breast- 
wise,  with  full  front,  breaking  in  upon  their  ab- 
sorbing business,  or  pleasure,  or  madness,  with  a 
"  Thus  saith  the  Lord."  Others  will  be  moved  by 
a  loving  word,  a  tender  inquiry,  a  gentle  sugges- 
tion, as  you  walk  home  with  them  on  a  summer 
evening.  You  must  be  the  judge  of  where  and 
how,  hxxt  judge.  Do  not  follow  a  blind  impression 
that  you  are  to  make  home-thrusts  right  and  left, 
without  regard  to  time  or  place.  Do  not  fancy, 
as  an  excellent  woman  w^hom  I  knew  seemed  to  do, 
that  your  social,  religious  duty  is  discharged  when 
you  have  put  to  every  person  you  meet  the  ques- 
tion, "  How  do  you  feel  in  your  mind  "  ?  The 
human   heart  remains  ever  an  unsolved  and  in- 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  Bo 

solvable  problem.  Only  by  careful  study  and  un- 
ceasing prayer  —  self-work  and  God-help  —  can 
you  begin  to  take  its  measurement.  The  cure 
of  souls  is  no  trifling  matter,  to  be  entered  upon 
as  impulse  may  direct.  The  bow  drawn  at  a 
venture  may  send  an  arrow  quivering  in  between 
the  joints  of  the  armor,  felling  a  foe  to  earth  ;  but 
also  it  may  drain  the  life-blood  of  a  friend.  Your 
random  "appeal"  may  be  the  savor  of  life  unto 
life ;  but  unless  you  have  made  it  judiciously, 
you  have  no  right  to  expect  it  to  be  anything 
but  of  death  unto  death.  Of  course  I  do  not 
mean  anything  so  absurd  as  that  you  must  never 
speak  to  a  friend  on  matters  that  pertain  to  per- 
>sonal  religion,  unless  you  have  carefully  weighed 
beforehand  all  the  circumstances,  and  deliber- 
ately chosen  to  do  it  thus  and  so.  I  would  have 
you,  rather,  like  the  skilful  general,  who,  indeed, 
plans  his  campaign  beforehand  with  painful  care, 
but  is  guided  in  carr^^ing  out  its  details  by  the 
movements  of  the  enemy,  marching  and  counter- 
marching, as  best  he  may  baffle  his  wary  foe. 
The  unpremeditated  onset  is  often  the  most  bril- 
liant and  successful ;  but  its  very  brilliancy  and 
success  are  due,  in  large  measure,  to  the  skill 
that  watched  and  the  patience  that  waited. 

Grasp  the  opportunity.  Make  one  if  you  can  ; 
but  be  a  little  careful  that  it  is  an  opportunity. 
Watch.  It  will  not  be  long.  "  God's  occasions  '* 
are  constantly  "  drifting  by.'* 


36  THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS, 

Do  you  say  that  I  have  put  hons  in  the  way  ? 
Not  at  all.  They  we^^^e  there  before.  I  have  only 
tried  to  point  out  one  or  two,  that  you  may  be  on 
your  guard.  It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  live.  We  do 
not  half  enough  feel  it.  We  walk  lightly  among 
eternities.  We  he  down  and  rise^  up,  we  go  out 
and  come  in,  we  smile  or  frown,  we  utter  a  brief 
good  morning,  we  look  a  look  of  love,  we  smile  a 
smile  of  hope,  we  breathe  a  word  of  prayer,  we 
pass  by  on  the  other  side,  and  a  soul  plumes  its 
wings  for  heaven,  or  plunges  into  the  depths,  and 
we  know  it  not. 

Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  God.  With 
him  our  v/eakness  is  strength.  Without  him  our 
strength  is  weakness.  We  are  instruments  in  his 
hands.  It  is  for  him  to  use  us.  It  is  for  us  to  lend 
ourselves  to  his  uses, — joyfully,  jubilantly,  entirely, 
with  infinite  blessing  to  ourselves,  or  reluctantly, 
grudgingly,  lazily,  to  our  final  and  infinite  dismay. 

It  is  far  more  trouble  to  think  and  plan  and 
contrive  how  best  we  may  serve  God,  by  most 
wisely  directing  lost  and  wandering  souls  back  to 
him,  than  it  is  to  push  thoughtlessly  forward  with- 
out reflection,  or  investigation,  or  ever  going  below 
the  surface  of  things.  But  what  else  are  you  liv- 
ing for  ?  What  would  your  farm  and  your  mer- 
chandise avail  you,  if  your  only  son,  the  heir  of 
your  name  and  fame  and  fortune,  were  doomed 
to  hopeless  captivity  ?  What  shall  it  profit  a  man 
if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  let  slip  his  brother's 


THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS.  37 

soul  ?  For  if  a  man  love  not  his  brother  whom  he 
hath  seen,  how  shall  he  love  God  whom  he  hath 
not  seen  ?  And  what  lazy  love  is  this  that  w^ill 
throw  out  a  rope  to  his  sinking  brother,  but  will 
not  take  the  trouble  to  see  whether  it  be  long 
enough  to  reach  him,  or  strong  enough  to  bear 
him? 

By  using  a  little  tact  in  the  "  cure  of  souls,"  our 
work  becomes  not  only  more  agreeable,  but  more 
pleasant.  If  you  talk  to  a  man  at  a  fitting  time 
and  in  a  natural  way,  not  with  routine  and  for- 
mality, not  simply  from  a  cold  sense  of  duty,  not 
with  a  desire  to  proselyte  him,  nor  pharisaically,  — 
but  out  of  the  depths  of  a  loving  heart,  yearning 
over  the  spirits  that  are  in  prison,  longing  to  loose 
the  bands  of  the  oppressor,  and  to  guide  the  wan- 
derer to  Christ,  —  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred,  you  will,  I  believe,  meet  not  only  courte- 
sy and  kindness,  but  the  sincerest  gratitude.  This, 
indeed,  is  not  essential,  but  it  is  pleasant.  Duty 
ought  to  be  followed  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  cannon 
that  has  powder  and  a  chain-shot  inside,  and  a 
fusee  scattering  sparks  outside  ;  but  it  is  neither 
religion  nor  morality  nor  courage  to  go  there 
from  sheer  love  of  the  heads,  trunks,  and  limbs 
out  of  which  glory  is  inferred  by  the  historian.  A 
duty  is  not  to  be  shirked  because  it  is  disagreeable  : 
but  if  it  can  be  made  agreeable,  by  all  means  make 
it  so.  It  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  persecuted  for  right- 
eousness' sake.     It  strengthens  and  toughens  and 


38  THE  FITNESS  OF'  THINGS. 

develops  the  soul.  We  reverence  the  heroism  that 
would  be  sawn  asunder,  slain  with  the  sword,  wan- 
der about  in  sheep-skins  and  goat-skins,  in  deserts 
and  mountains  and  dens  and  in  caves  of  the  earth, 
yet,  strong  in  faith,  would  not  deny  the  Lord.  But 
we  have  very  little  of  that  kind  of  persecution  ; 
ours  comes  in  a  mild  form,  and  we  rather  en- 
joy it.  In  fact,  except  among  sound  orthodox 
Christians,  there  is  not  much  persecution  in  these 
latter  times.  We  like  to  flatter  ourselves  that 
there  is.  We  like  to  fancy  ourselves  bearing  a 
cross,  because  it  enables  us  to  claim  the  crown. 
Young  people,  who  have  just  begun  to  think  upon 
their  ways  and  to  turn  their  feet  to  the  testimo- 
nies of  the  Lord,  read  of  the  ciniel  mockings  and 
scoiirgings  recorded  in  the  New  Testament,  and, 
forgetting  that  they  are  not  living  in  Rome  in  the 
days  of  Nero,  exliort  each  other  to  courage  and 
constancy  after  the  manner  of  Paul  and  the  early 
Christians.  If  you  bring  them  to  the  point,  —  in-! 
sisting  that  they  explain  definitely  what  they  mean, 
—  they  will  probably  conclude  that  they  refer  to 
the  scorn,  ridicule,  contumely,  or  coldness  "  of 
the  world."  Even  of  this,  however,  there  is 
veiy  little  in  New  England.  I  dare  say  a  good 
many  of  my  young  readers  will  be  considerably 
shocked  at  hearing  it ;  but  it  is  true.  Religion 
here  walks  in  silver  slippers.  It  is,  on  the  whole, 
appreciably  more  respectable  to  be  within  than 
without   the   pale  of  the  Church.     I  have  been 


THE  FITNESS  OF  THINGS.  39 

amused  to  hear  young  men  counsel  each  other  at 
prayer-meetings  not  to  fear  the  jeers  of  the  world, 
when  their  world  was  composed  of  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority  of  at  least  nominal  Christians, — 
when  their  certificate  of  church-membership  was, 
if  not  a  passport,  at  least  a  recommendation  to  the 
"  best  society  "  and  the  most  lucrative  clerksliips. 
It  would  be  very  strange  if  it  were  otherwise.  Our 
young  people,  and  our  old  people  too,  make  the 
mistake  of  applying  to  our  own  state  of  society 
facts*  which  are  true  only  of  other  and  far  different 
ones.  Would  it  not  be  singular,  if  the  descendants 
of  the  Puritans  had  thus  early  so  far  cast  off  the 
faith  and  practice  of  their  fathers,  as  that  society 
generally  should  hold  in  contempt  all  that  they  held 
in  reverence  ?  We  may  have  degenerated,  but  not 
with  such  rapid  strides.  We  have  softened  the 
harsher  outlines  of  a  stern  belief,  rendering  it,  we 
hope,  more  effective  ;  but  we  have  as  yet  by  no 
means  discarded  it,  substituting  therefor  devices 
of  our  own.  Many  foreign  influences  are  at 
work,  and  many  foreign  elements  have  been  in- 
troduced, —  some  for  good,  some  for  evil ;  but  the 
basis  is  unchanged.  There  may  be  places  — 
cities,  towns,  villages  —  where  religion  is  despised, 
but  I  have  never  seen  them.  The  great  mass 
of  intelligent  people  in  our.  land  —  which  is  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  —  treat  Christianity 
with  outward  respect.  I  can  go  further,  and 
say  that  I  never  knew  a  truly  humble,  devout, 


40  THE  FITNESS   OF  THINGS. 

sensible,  consistent  Christian  ridiculed  on  account 
of  his  Christianity,  except  in  a  few  religious 
newspapers  and  Sunday-school  books.  I  have 
been  surprised  to  see  the  respect  paid  to  religion 
by  those  who  made  no  pretensions  to  it  them- 
selves. 

It  is  true  that  inconsistent  Christians  do  get  a 
good  many  hard  hits  ;  and  as  most  of  us  are  more 
or  less  inconsistent,  it  follows  that  most  of  us  have 
to  wince  occasionally,  but  we  have  no  right  to  com- 
plain. It  may  not  be  kind  or  chivalrous  in*  the 
hitter,  but,  if  we  present  a  vulnerable  point  to  the 
foe,  we  must  expect  him  to  take  advantage  of  it. 
We  flatter  our  self-love  that  we  are  following  the 
footsteps  of  the  martyrs,  when  we  are  but  stum- 
bling along  by-paths  of  our  own.  It  is  not  our 
Christianity,  but  our  inconsistency,  that  is  laughed 
at,  as  it  richly  deserves,  and  may  consider  itself  let 
off  lightly  at  that.  When  our  efforts  for  others 
are  received  with  ridicule,  ten  to  one  it  is  because 
we  go  to  work  in  a  ridiculous  way.  I  do  not  say 
this  harshly  or  reproachfully.  It  is  a  simple  state- 
ment of  fact.  Some  of  us  are  naturally  absurd. 
We  take  hold  of  things  in  general  the  wrong  way. 
Some  of  us  are  only  partially  absurd.  Let  us 
acknowledge  the  fact  good-naturedly,  and  if  we 
fail  where  we  earnestly  hoped  to  succeed,  let  us 
consider  whether  it  may  not  be  due  to  the  out- 
cropping of  our  absurdity,  as  well  as  of  another's 
total  depravity.    When  we  enter  the  portals  of  the 


THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS.  41 

cimrcli,  we  take  our  bundle  of  peculiarities  with  us. 
So  far  as  they  are  stumbling-blocks  in  other  peo- 
ples' paths,  we  ought  to  do  all  that  we  can  to  re- 
move them  ;  which  being  done,  we  are  guiltless. 
But  do  not  let  us  magnify  them  into  religion,  and 
think  the  cause  of  Christ  bound  up  in  them.  They 
may  be  our  fault ;  they  may  be  our  misfortune. 
In  either  case  they  are  not  our  glory. 

We  confound  incident  with  essence ;  and  the  re- 
sult is  harmful.  It  is  wrong,  and  wrong  is  always 
harmful.  It  is  unjust,  and  injustice  works  woe. 
People  are  bad  enough  ;  it  does  not  conduce  to 
God's  glory  or  their  own  good  to  make  them  out 
any  worse  than  they  are.  They  have  a  sufficient 
alacrity  in  sinning ;  do  not  let  us  call  that  a  sin 
which  is  only  a  difference  of  taste.  I  once  saw  a 
pious  woman  seem  as  much  distressed  because  her 
brother  spoke  lightly  of  the  preaching  faculty  of  a 
certain  minister,  as  if  he  had  told  a  lie ;  when  the 
fact  was,  that  the  minister,  although  the  very  salt 
of  the  earth  for  goodness,  —  a  burning  and  shining 
light  for  all  moral  virtues  and  Christian  graces,  — 
was  an  intolerable  proser  in  the  pulpit.  Famine 
itself  could  hardly  obtain  meat  off  the  dry  bones 
of  his  theological  disquisitions.  Do  you  not  see 
that  such  a  confounding  of  facts  must  have  a  ten- 
dency to  make  a  man  desperate  ?  If  you  visit 
upon  mere  difference  of  taste,  or  an  acute  sense  of 
the  ridiculous,  the  reprobation  which  belongs  only 
to   moral  obliquity,  —  if  you  identify  your  weak- 


42  THE  FITNESS   OF   THINGS. 

nesses  with  Christ's  strength,  and  consider  a  dart 
aimed  at  one  to  be  also  and  inevitably  aimed  at  the 
other,  —  you  must  not  be  surprised  if  he  whom  you 
wish  to  serve  and  save,  following  your  example, 
falls  into  the  same  mistake,  and  the  name  of  Christ 
thereby  suffers  reproach. 

Be  careful,  therefore,  not  to  confound  men  with 
principles,  the  religion  of  Christ  with  your  ex- 
emplification of  it,  the  susceptibility  of  the  mind 
to  various  emotions  with  the  "  opposition  of  the 
natural  heart  "  to  truth.  Make  the  cause  of  Christ 
always  yours  ;  but  do  not  suppose  that  your  cause 
must  invariably  be  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  shell- 
fish and  sea-weed  that  cling  to  the  ship's  keel  are 
not  the  ship.  They  are  only  obstacles  to  its  pro- 
gress. The  heavy  blows,  the  burning  and  scraping 
and  scouring,  are  only  to  clear  them  off.  Nobody 
is  going  to  scuttle  the  ship. 

In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,  but  the 
tribulation  of  New  England  Christians  in  the  year 
1860  is  from  within  rather  than  from  without,  — 
it  arises  from  our  own  sins  rather  than  from  the 
sins  of  others. 

Whoever  wishes  to  work  effectually  for  Christ 
must  put  his  armor  on.  It  is  no  work  for  lazy 
people.  It  needs  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent,  the 
harmlessness  of  the  dove,  and  the  strength  of  the 
lion.  Let  us  watch  for  souls,  as  those  that  must 
give  account. 


III. 


ORDINANCES. 


"Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an 
holyday,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days  :  which  are  a  shadow  of 
things  to  come;  but  the  body  is  of  Christ."  —  Col.  ii.  16,  17. 


)E  who  are  Congregationalists  have 
small  reverence  for  the  Apostolic 
succession.  We  can  hardly  believe 
that- virtue  has  been  conducted  over 
an  unbroken  line  of  fingers  eighteen  centuries 
long,  and  we  are  rather  surprised  at  the  credulity 
of  our  Episcopal  brethren.  Yet  we  sometimes 
pay  ourselves,  and  demand  from  others,  as  great 
a  reverence  for  certain  forms,  as  if  those  forms 
had  been  intrusted  to  our  keeping  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church.  We  are  as  inconsistent  as 
we  fancy  "  Churchmen  "  to  be  credulous.  They 
logically  require  reverence  for  what  they  believe 
to  be  a  true  apostolic  succession.  We  illogically 
demand  equal  reverence  for  that  for  which  we 
claim  only  human  origin. 

I  suppose  the  whole  Protestant  world  is  a  unit 


44:  ORDINANCES. 

as  regards  tlie  necessity  and  propriety  of  assem- 
bling together  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  for  the 
purpose  of  worshipping  God  in  a  direct  and  espe- 
cial manner.  The  teaching  of  Scripture,  both  by 
precept  and  example,  and  the  experience  of  the 
Christian  world,  have  shown  that  the  social  ele- 
ment of  man's  religious  nature  needs  this  for  its 
adequate  sustenance  and  generous  growth.  But 
as  to  the  particular  manner  in  which  this  worship 
shall  be  conducted,  or  the  number  of  times  that  we 
shall  assemble  ourselves  together  on  Sunday,  the 
Scriptures  do  not  give  a  distinct  intimation,  and 
we  acknowledge  no  other  authority,  —  nor  is  there, 
in  fact,  any  unanimity  of  custom  in  the  matter. 
Many  a  New  England  village  has,  however,  set- 
tled the  question  as  succinctly  and  definitely  as 
if  it  had  consulted  Urim  and  Thummim  and  re- 
ceived response.  Extemporaneous  prayers  ut- 
tered by  the  clergyman  alone,  written  sermons, 
and  choir-singing,  —  for  quality,  two  church  ser- 
vices and  Sunday  school  in  the  day-time,  and 
prayer-meeting  in  the  evening,  —  for  quantity. 
The  question  of  quality  I  do  not  now  propose  to 
discuss,  but  let  us  examine  a  little  this  question  of 
quantity. 

I  have  no  right  to  reproach  you  for  going  to 
church  only  once  on  Sunday,  and  you  have  no 
right  to  reproach  me  for  going  four  times.  By 
your  one  attendance  you  express  your  approbation 
of,  and  your  respect  for,  the  institution,  and  by  the 


ORDINANCES.  45 

four,  I  express  jast  as  much,  and  no  more.  You 
uphold  the  ordinance  just  as  powerfully  as  I. 
The  man  who  goes  to  a  theatre  twdce  a  year  ex- 
presses his  opinion  that  the  theatre  is  not  a  sin 
per  se,  or  confesses  that,  although  a  sin,  it  holds 
out  to  him  a  temptation  too  strong  to  be  resisted, 
just  as  truly  as  he  who  goes  to  the  theatre  every 
night.  So  the  man  who  goes  to  church  once  on 
Sunday,  lifts  up  his  voice  in  favor  of  church-going 
just  as  loudly  as  he  who  goes  four  times.  Thus 
far  they  stand  on  the  same  ground.  But  the  dif- 
ference between  them  is  this.  The  latter  shows 
by  his  repeated  attendance  that  the  kind  of  food 
which  he  there  receives  is  best  adapted  to  his  soul. 
He  can  worship  God  better  in  the  great  congre- 
gation than  elsewhere.  He  can,  for  the  time, 
pray  better  with  other  men's  lips  than  with  his 
own.  He  can  praise  better  if  other  men  "join 
voices  "  in  his  praise.  His  soul  can  better  grasp  a 
truth  wdiich  has  passed  through  the  alembic  of 
another  man's  soul,  than  one  that  presents  itself 
to  him  at  first  hand.  His  social  nature  is  largely 
developed.  He  craves  companionship.  His  fer- 
vor is  not  spontaneous,  but  communicated.  His 
heart  strikes  fire  only  when  smitten  by  the  thought 
or  feeling  of  another  heart.  His  heat  is  developed 
by  friction.  All  this  is  natural  to  him,  and  right. 
The  church  and  the  prayer-meeting  are  to  him  the 
house  of  God  and  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  There 
he    sees    the   angels    ascending   and   descending. 


46  ORDINANCES. 

There  his  faith  and  hope  and  love,  wakened  to 
new  life,  bridge  for  him  the  finite  and  the  infinite, 
the  present  and  the  future,  earth  and  heaven. 
The  communion  of  saints  fills  him  with  holy  joy, 
and  as  his  reluctant  feet  turn  lingeringly  away,  he 
exclaims  with  rapture,  "  How  amiable  are  thy 
tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  Hosts  !  " 

The  former  shows  with  equal  clearness  that  he 
possesses  a  different  organization.  Other  condi- 
tions are  more  favorable  to  his  growth  in  grace. 
The  savory  meat  that  his  soul  loves  cannot  be 
furnished  him  by  the  bow  and  quiver  of  Esau, 
even  though  he  be  a  mighty  hunter  before  the 
Lord.  It  comes  to  him  in  "  saintly  solitude." 
From  between  the  covers  of  musty  books,  the  old 
truths,  ever  fresh  and  ever  young,  spring  up  to  * 
meet  him.  Dry  leaves  exhale  for  him  the  sweet- 
est odors.  Old-time  thoughts,  still  glowing  with 
the  piety  that  conceived  them,  fragrant  with  aroma 
caught  from  the  thousands  of  hearts  which  they 
visited  with  healing  as  they  passed  down  the  ages, 
have  for  him  a  charm,  a  pungency,  a  power,  which 
the  words  of  no  living  preacher  possess.  The 
wisdom  of  the  past  girds  him  with  wisdom  for  the 
future.  Among  the  heroes  and  martyrs  of  other 
days  he  finds  his  fitting  panoply.  He  puts  the 
new  wine  to  his  lips,  but  he  feels  that  the  old  is 
better.  Or  it  may  be  that  he  finds  Christ  in  field 
and  grove.  He  liears  the  voice  of  the  Lord  walk- 
ing in  the  garden.     A  bird  of  the  air  carries  the 


ORDINANCES.  47 

message  of  love  to  liim.  The  brooks  ripple  it. 
The  winds  murmur  it.  The  waves  sparkle  it. 
"  Rock  and  tree  and  flowing  water  "  are  God's 
messengers  to  him.  Every  harebell  that  swings 
its  purple  cup  to  the  summer  breeze,  every  lily 
that  opens  its  white  bosom  to  the  evening  dew, 
every  blade  of  grass  that  wrests  a  homely  but  vig- 
orous hfe  from  the  uncareful  soil,  are  ministers  of 
God  to  him.  He  finds  a  gospel  in  the  hum  of  the 
bees,  in  the  chirr  of  insects,  in  the  busy,  uncon- 
scious happiness  that  stirs  around  him.  God's 
wisdom,  God's  providence,  God's  fatherliness, 
meet  him  everywhere.  Earth  and  sea  and  sky 
are  to  him  a  harp  of  a  thousand  strings.  Touched 
by  his  tuneful  hand  they  quiver  into  melody,  and 
every  creature  which  is  in  heaven,  and  on  the 
earth,  and  under  the  earth,  join  the  song,  —  the 
voice  of  a  great  multitude,  the  voice  of  many 
waters,  the  voice  of  mighty  thmiderings,  saying. 
Alleluia !  The  Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth. 
Blessing  and  honor  and  glory  and  power  be 
unto  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb,  forever  and  ever. 

So  far  all  is  right ;  but  when  number  one  turns 
on  number  two,  or  number  two  turns  on  number 
one,  and  begins  to  rebuke  him  for  his  mode  of 
spending  the  Sabbath,  all  becomes  wrong  again. 
Every  man  must  decide  as  to  the  kind  of  food  his 
soul  needs.  His  liberty  is  not  to  be  judged  of 
another  man's  conscience.     The  gay  canaiy-bird 


48  ORDINANCES. 

pecks  a  dainty  breakfast  from  its  little  cup  of 
seeds,  and  rings  out  full-throated  thanks  on  the 
morning  air.  The  meek-eyed  oxen  crop  the  pur- 
ple clover,  and  in  its  strength  patiently  bear  the 
burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  The  oxen  would 
starve  on  the  canary-seed,  and  all  the  clover  in 
the  world  would  not  supply  to  the  bird  the  place 
of  its  one  little  cup. 

It  is  often  true,  I  sorrowfully  admit,  that  many 
people  who  stop  away  from  church  are  actuated 
by  no  right  motive.  They  not  only  do  not  wor- 
ship God  at  church,  but  they  do  not  worship  him 
anywhere.  They  are  simply  lazy  and  indifferent. 
Their  idea  of  rest  is  lounging.  They  doze  away 
the  Sabbath  day  in  profitless,  and  therefore  harm- 
ful idleness. 

But  also  there  are  many  constant  attendants  on 
religious  services  whose  course  is  guided  by  noth- 
ing higher  than  habit.  They  have  been  brought 
up  in  a  certain  way  from  infancy,  and  they  never 
think  of  doing  otherwise.  Others  go  for  excite- 
ment. Some  will  marvel  at  this,  but  when  a  man 
has  been  digging  potatoes  or  hoeing  corn  or 
mending  shoes  for  six  days,  it  is  a  pleasant  change 
for  him  to  put  on  his  best  coat  and  go  to  meeting 
thrice  on  Sunday,  and  he  feels  as  if  he  can  hardly 
get  too  much  of  it.  Others  do  it  for  the  sociality 
of  the  thing.  In  the  country  villages,  for  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  year,  it  is  the  prmcipal  oppor- 
tunity  that  friends  have  of  meeting  each  other, 


ORDINANCES.  49 

exchanging  kindly  greetings,  and  displaying  the 
fine  clothes  which  their  own  skill  or  industry  has 
procured.  I  do  not  say  that  these  are  wrong  mo- 
tives. I  do  not  think  they  are.  It  is  quite  inno- 
cent to  take  pleasure  even  In  wearing  a  pretty 
bonnet  to  church  ;  but  it  is  only  innocent.  It  is 
not  virtuous.  It  is  not  devout.  It  is  not  holy. 
If  it  is  not  combined  with  some  higher  motive, 
there  Is  a  sin  of  omission,  and  the  act  of  going  to 
church  is  no  more  religious  than  the  act  of  eating 
breakfast.  Yet  that  such  cases  often  occur,  does 
in  no  wise  militate  against  church-going,  nor  dis- 
prove the  fact  that  there  are  devout  worshippers 
in  every  sanctuary,  —  men  and  women  who  go 
there  to  call  upon  tlie  name  of  the  Lord.  Just  so 
does  the  indifference  and  Irreliglon  found  in  the 
other  class  not  prove  that  a  man  may  not,  in  the 
exercise  of  an  enlightened  judgment,  absent 
himself  from  the  morning,  afternoon,  or  evening 
service,  and  yet  be  a  man  after  God's  own 
heart. 

So  far,  I  have  only  desired  to  show  that  staying 
away  from  a  portion  of  the  church  services  Is  not 
of  itself  a  sin,  and  ought  not  to  be  considered  a 
presumption  of  irreliglon  or  indifference. 

I  now  go  further,  and  suggest  whether  this 
wholesale  church-going  be  not  a  hinderance  to  our 
upward  progress.  Is  It  not  sometimes  allowed  to 
usurp  the  place  of  other  duties  ?  If  we  went  to 
church  less,  could  we  not  serve  God  more  ?     Do 


50  ORDINANCES. 

we  not  make  a  kind  of  salve  for  our  consciences, 
soothing  oui-selves  for  the  neglect  of  other  duties 
by  the  punctual  performance  of  this  ?  Is  it  not, 
sometimes,  a  device  of  the  enemy  to  take  away 
our  attention  from  the  real  sin  that  is  undermining 
the  foundations  of  our  faith  ?  I  would  be  very  far 
from  wishing,  even  had  I  the  power,  to  strike  at 
the  root,  or  at  the  smallest  opening  bud,  of  any  tree 
whose  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations  ; 
but  there  may  be  straggling  or  withered  branches 
that  ought  to  be  lopped  off,  and  which  no  one  hand 
is  strong;  enough  to  do.  It  must  be  the  work  of 
many,  —  all  feeble,  it  may  be,  yet  powerful  in 
union,  and  impelled  by  hearts  that  would  fain  gain 
strength  for  themselves  by  helping  other  hearts  to 
bear  their  burdens.  So  I  would  speak  of  such  a 
matter  with  great  diffidence,  —  rather  in  the  form 
of  suggestion  than  of  advice.  I  would  not  lift  up 
a  rash,  presumptuous  hand  against  anything  which 
has  contributed  to  the  happiness  and  received  the 
sanction  of  millions.  An  old-time  custom  has  al- 
ways in  itself  somewhat  venerable.  The  simple 
fact  that  it  is  a  custom,  commends  it  to  respect. 
Anythmg  that  indicates  and  moulds  character  is 
entitled,  at  least,  to  serious  attention.  Even  if 
wholly  bad,  we  cannot  forget  that  it  emanated 
from,  and  reacted  upon,  responsible  immortal  be- 
ings, and  we 

"  walk  backward  with  averted  gaze, 
And  hide  its  shame." 


ORDINANCES.  51 

If  it  be  good,  we  recognize  and  cherish  it  as  a 
mighty  engine  for  truth.  If  it  have  outgrown  the 
occasion  which  gave  it  birth,  or  if  it  be,  as  is  very- 
common,  partly  good  and  partly  evil,  we  lay  it 
aside  reverently,  or  strive  so  to  modify  it  that  it 
shall  conduce  only  to  highest  ends.  But  we  ought 
not  to  let  our  reverence  so  far  mislead  our  judg- 
ment as  to  reftise  to  see  the  evil,  or,  seeing  it,  to 
remove  it.  N^am  consuetudo  sine  veritate  vetustas 
erroiis  est,  "  Custom  without  truth  is  the  old  age 
of  error."  If  it  is  best  for  us  all  to  spend  the 
greater  part  of  Sunday  in  public  religious  services, 
let  us  all  do  it.  If  it  is  best  only  for  a  part,  let  a 
part  only  do  it.  If  it  is  asserted  that  there  is  a 
more  excellent  way,  let  us,  as  we  love  God  and 
our  brother,  examine  that  way  before  we  decide 
for  or  against  it.  Let  us  prove  all  things,  holduig 
fast  only  that  which  is  good. 

It  seems  to  me  that  we  put  Sabbath-keeping 
generally  on  too  low  ground.  We  call  it  duty 
when  it  should  be  privilege.  The  Sabbath  is  a 
feast,  and  not  a  fast.  It  is  less  a  command  than  a 
boon.  It  is  granted  to  us,  above  and  beyond  being 
imposed  upon  us.  It  is  our  great  rest-day,  given 
us  that  we  may  not  faint  from  overmuch  weari- 
ness. After  a  week's  toil  of  body,  or  mind,  or 
both,  God,  in  his  fatherly  love  and  tender  care, 
presses  upon  us  this  great  gift  that  our  souls  may 
live.  He  stays  the  sweeping  tide  that  we  may 
take  our  soundings,  reckon  our  latitude  and  Ion- 


52  ORDINANCES. 

gitude,  find  where  we  are  and  wlilther  we  are 
steering.  In  the  dlzzynig  whh'l  of  Hf'e  we  need 
—  O  how  greatly  do  we  need,  and  how  sorely 
do  we  suffer  without  it ! —  this  regularly  recurring 
interval  of  quiet,  that  we  may  look  gratefully  back 
over  all  the  way  which  the  Lord  our  God  hath 
led  us,  and  trustfully  forward  through  all  the 
future  till  the  end  come. 

But  often  we  baffle  these  designs.  We  spend 
our  Sunday  in  what  I  can  call  nothing  but  relig- 
ious dissipation.  We  scarcely  commune  with 
ourselves  at  all.  We  leave  no  time  for  it.  We 
live  in  public.  We  flit  from  service  to  service. 
We  listen  with  more  or  less  attention  to  one,  two, 
three  sermons,  besides  spending  an  hour  or  so  in 
Sunday  schools.  We  fast  during  the  week,  gorg- 
ing ourselves  on  Sunday.  It  seems  to  me  nothing 
more  or  less  than  a  kind  of  theological  cramming. 
The  result  is,  and  must  inevitably  be,  a  spiritual 
dyspepsia.  The  food  we  receive  is  ill-timed  and 
ill-measured,  and  nourishes  a  morbid  or  partial 
growth.  It  goes  but  in  small  proportion  to  blood 
and  bone  and  sinew,  —  to  strength  and  symmetry 
and  life.  Much  of  it  is  as  water  spilt  upon  the 
ground.  The  waste  is  immense.  So  our  religion 
lacks  a  well-proportioned  development.  It  has  a 
tendency  to  go  off  into  all  manner  of  side  issues, 
instead  of  meeting  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the 
devil  face  to  face,  and  putting  them  all  to  flight. 
It  runs  to  prayer-meetings  and  technicalities  rather 


ORDINANCES.  53 

than  to  right  living.  It  is  more  concerned  to  keep 
heretics  out  of  the  Church  than  to  bring  sinners 
into  Christ's  fold.  It  sticks  on  to  the  outside  of 
our  life  instead  of  penetrating  to  the  centre,  pui'i- 
fjing  the  heart.  We  set  our  religion  here,  and 
our  business  there,  stirring  them  together  a  little 
occasionally ;  whereas  they  should  chemically 
combine,  forming  a  third  substance,  which  is 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other,  but  infinitely  bet- 
ter than  either,  —  namely,  a  Christian  life.  Paul 
gives  the  recipe  and  the  result.  "  Not  slothful  in 
business.  Fervent  in  spirit."  This  is  "  serving 
the  Lord." 

The  Sabbath  is  a  rest-day,  but  change  is  rest. 
We  are  just  as  much  rested  by  standing  after  we 
have  been  sitting  a  long  while,  as  we  are  by 
sitting  after  we  have  been  standing.  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  man  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy,  but 
the  best  way  for  him  to  keep  it  depends  somewhat 
on  circumstances.  Whether  a  certain  course  of 
action  will  give  him  rest  or  not,  depends  upon 
whether  it  will  give  him  change.  He  must  be  the 
judge.  Every  man  must  do  that  which  is  right 
in  his  own  eyes,  subject  to  the  "higher  law."  If 
his  business  during  the  week  is  such  as  occupies 
the  body  rather  than  the  mind,  then  it  will  be  not 
only  harmless,  but  beneficial,  for  him  to  keep 
his  mind  at  work  on  Sunday.  The  Sabbath- 
school  and  prayer-meeting  will  give  scope  to  fac- 
ulties that  mio;ht  otherwise  lang-uish  from  inaction. 


54  ORDINANCES. 

The  well-thought  (whether  or  not  well-written) 
sermon  will  give  him  something  to  take  hold  of. 
If  it  is  a  little  knotty,  abstruse,  or  unusual,  so 
much  the  better,  provided  it  be  tangible  and  port- 
able. Behind  the  plough,  on  the  bench,  over  the 
anvil,  he  will  straighten  the  tangled  doctrine  and 
clear  up  the  clouded  truth.  It  is  the  quiet,  med- 
itative tenor  of  his  daily  life  that  enables  him  to 
spend  his  Sabbath  in  profitable  activity. 

If,  on  the  contrary,  his  business  engrosses  all 
his  energies,  physical  and  mental,  he  needs  quiet 
on  Sunday,  —  the  song  of  praise  to  soothe,  —  the 
voice  of  prayer  to  elevate,  —  the  sermon  to  direct 
his  attention  to  other  matters  than  his  business,  or 
to  his  business  fi^om  a  different  and  a  higher  stand- 
point. The  home  circle,  too,  the  society  of  wife 
and  child, 

"  The  graces  and  the  loves  that  make 
The  music  of  the  march  of  life," 

all  have  their  ministry  of  salvation  to  him.  They 
soften  and  spiritualize  the  heart  that  would  other- 
wise grow  hard  from  the  very  anxiety  of  its 
affection. 

We  have,  unhappily,  yet  not  without  reason, 
contracted  a  distrust  of  natural  religion,  or  the 
religion  that  God  reveals  through  nature.  We 
are  afraid  of  it  as  if  it  were  some  insidious  monster, 
that  must  be  strangled  in  its  innocent-seeminy; 
infancy,  lest  it  attack  and  destroy  our  Christian 
faith.     I  have  heard  young  people  warned  against 


ORDINANCES.  55 

it  as  a  kind  of  hidden  heresy  and  infidBhty ; 
whereas,  it  seems  to  me  that  natural  religion  is 
just  as  good  as  revealed  rehgion,  as  far  as  it  goes. 
It  does  not,  to  be  sure,  go  a  long  way.  We 
have  something  which  goes  a  great  deal  farther. 
Yet  many  nations  in  many  ages  have  had  nothing 
else.  It  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  our  sal- 
vation, because  we  have  a  more  sure  word  of 
prophecy.  Yet  it  is  a  help  whereunto  we  shall 
do  well  to  take  heed.  It  would  be  very  wicked 
and  very  weak  —  a  crime  and  a  blunder  —  for  us 
to  turn  away  from  the  revelation  of  the  Bible, 
which  is  definite  and  explicit,  to  the  revelation 
of  nature,  which  is  in  a  degree  vague  and  indis- 
tinct;  but  it  is  not  only  wise  —  it  is  the  hio-Jiest 
wisdom  —  to  take  the  two  together,  to  bring  each 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  other.  It  would  be  ex- 
tremely stupid  for  a  man  to  go  down  cellar  to  live 
because  he  had  bought  a  pound  of  tallow  candles. 
It  would  also  be  somewhat  stupid  for  him  to  re- 
fuse ever  to  light  his  candles,  because  God  has 
furnished  a  sun.  The  only  sensible  way  is  to 
take  in  with  utmost  grasp  the  rich,  full,  all-per- 
vading sunshine,  but,  if  thereby  the  ends  of 
charity  and  cheer  can  be  better  promoted,  not 
to  despise  the  farthing  candle  at  evening  hour. 

Natural  religion  is  not  Pantheism,  —  at  least, 
not  the  Pantheism  that  abrogates  God,  —  not  the 
Pantheism  that  makes  the  creature  coequal  and . 
coextensive    with    the  Creator,  —  that  confounds 


56  ORDINANCES. 

the  work  and  the  worker.  There  is  a  true  Pan- 
theism, —  to  see  God  in  all.  That  which  would 
fain  have  us  take  the  vessel  for  Him  that  made  it, 
is  a  false  Pantheism,  if,  indeed,  it  be  not  Atheism. 
The  blind  and  base  confusion  of  the  one  is  as  far 
removed  from  the  enlightened  adoration  of  the 
other,  as  darkness  is  from  light.  The  one  is  a 
positive  truth  ;  the  other,  a  negative  falsehood. 
But  because  we  reject  the  falsehood,  we  need  not 
reject  the  truth.  "We  are  not  to  worship  Nature, 
since  she  is  only  God's  handiwork  ;  but  we  ought 
to  revere  her  because  she  is  his  handiwork. 
What  God  thought  it  worth  his  while  to  make, 
it  is  certainly  worth  our  while  to  examine.  We 
are  losers  if  we  do  not.  The  Land  and  the  Book 
complement  each  other.  The  light  of  the  Bible 
thrown  full  upon  the  face  of  Nature  brings  out  a 
hidden  loveliness  that  her  priests  and  prophets, 
groping  without  it,  never  saw;  and  when  earth 
and  sea  and  sky  shall  have  given  up  the  secrets 
which  are  in  them,  the  holy  words  that  are  now 
but  a  faint  nebula  of  light  will  shine  out  full, 
distinct,  and  clear,  each 

"  A  spotless  star,  a  fixed,  central  sun 
In  the  mind's  heaven,  unchangeable  and  one." 

Yet  we,  learned  and  unlearned,  are  veiy  heathen 
in  this  matter.  On  the  one  side,  we  too  often  put 
science  in  the  place  of  God.  We  attribute  events 
to  causes,  forgetting  the  great  First  Cause.  We 
go  back  one  step,  and  stand  exulting  in  our  knowl- 


ORDINANCES.  57 

^digQ^  as  if  wo  had  gone  back  to  that  divinel;^ 
simple,  yet  inconceivable  and  fearful  "in  the 
beginning."  An  apple  falls,  and  we  call  it  grav- 
itation, and  glory  in  the  grand  discovery,  and 
plume  ourselves  on  our  acuteness  and  our  wisdom. 
—  as  if  we  knew  anything  about  gravitation,  except 
that  it  is.  One  puny  little  star  in  the  grand  and 
awful  universe,  we  sweep  around  in  our  appointed 
cycle.  Infinite  mysteries  are  about  us  and  beneath 
us,  in  which  we  have  neither  hand  nor  voice.  No 
influence  of  ours  can  hasten  or  retard,  or  in  any 
way  disturb,  the  earth  in  her  swift  career.  Im- 
pelled by  an  unseen  force,  guided  by  inexorable 
law,  she  wheels  through  the  circling  heavens. 
We  sit  perched  on  her  surface  for  a  few  days, 
turning  our  little  glasses  upon  the  worlds  that  go 
flashing  by,  —  shrinking  now  and  then  with  sud- 
den fear,  .as  some  unknown  messenger  seems  to 
threaten  destruction  to  our  frail  chariot.  We 
delve  a  few  feet  down  among  the  granite  records, 
striving  with  dim  eyes  and  feeble  hands  to  wrest 
their  secrets  from  the  rocks.  Painfully  and  labori- 
ously, generation  after  generation,  shred  by  shred, 
we  gather  a  few  facts,  and  then  a  "  giant  intel- 
lect "  arises,  and  compels  admiration  by  the  an- 
nouncement of  some  "great  law,"  which  is  only 
the  general  statement  of  assorted  facts.  So  in 
the  lapse  of  ages  we  discover  here  and  there 
gleams  of  the  vast  system  by  which  God  gov- 
erns the  universe.     We   play  at   hide  and  seek 

3* 


58  ORDINANCES. 

with  the  truths  of  space  and  time.  Right,  if 
we  do  it  right,  —  and  productive  onlj  of  good. 
"Wrong,  if  we  do  it  wrong,  —  and  conducive  only 
to  evil. 

It  needs  not  to  wage  war  with  science.  That 
would  be  the  blindest,  and,  fortunately,  the  most 
useless  stupidity.  Science  is  the  handmaid  of  re- 
ligion. Every  step  we  take  in  the  knowledge  of 
mind  or  matter  brings  us  intellectually,  and  should 
bring  us  morally,  nearer  to  God.  Our  very  mis- 
takes are  fruitfiil  of  good,  since  every  error  ex- 
posed diminishes,  by  so  much,  our  distance  from 
the  truth.  There  is,  there  can  be,  no  contradiction 
between  the  truths  of  science  and  the  truths  of 
the  Bible,  for  truth  is  always  at  one  with  itself. 
What  contradiction  exists,  lies  between  seeming 
truths,  or  our  conceptions  of  them.  As  we  in- 
crease in  wisdom,  all  discrepancies  will  disappear. 
True  theology  and  true  geology  will  dovetail  into 
each  other.  If  it  could  be  otherwise,  —  if  the 
Bible  needed  to  be  shielded  from  the  light  of 
advancing  knowledge,  lest  its  own  light  should  be 
quenched  or  dimmed,  it  would  be  no  Bible  at  all. 
A  revelation  that  needs  to  be  propped  up  is  a 
sorry  kind  of  revelation.  If,  when  science  is 
rounded  to  completion,  it  shall  contradict  the 
Bible,  let  the  Bible  go.  We  do  not  want  it.  It 
will  have  done  its  work.  Let  it  be  gathered  to 
the  Korans,  and  the  Eddas,  and  the  Shasters. 
But  it  will  not !     Science  and  theology  are  both 


ORDINANCES.  59 

in  tlieir  infancy.  They  have  not  yet  put  off  their 
swaddhng-clothes.  We  only  look  through  a  glass 
darkly.  When  the  full  glory  is  revealed,  we 
shall  see  how,  along  the  world's  dark  ages  not  yet 
closed,  both  have  been  working  together  for  good. 
Meanwhile,  let  us  be  modest.  Let  us  be  reverent. 
Let  us  remember  that  a  law  is  only  God's  mode 
of  action.  Science  is  recreant  to  her  trust  if  she 
makes  us  satisfied  with  anything  short  of  God. 
Better  that  we  should  look  upon  the  fearful  sights 
and  great  signs  in  the  heavens,  —  upon  plague 
and  pestilence  and  famine  as  the  direct  scourges 
of  God,  than  that  we  should  say  "gravitation," 
*'  electricity,"  "  malaria,"  and  put  God  out  of  all 
our  thoughts.  All  that  we  can  do  as  regards 
other  worlds,  and  the  most  we  can  do  in  this,  is 
to  discover  what  is.  We  say  the  planets  revolve 
round  the  sun,  and  the  sun  around  its  sun.  Ni- 
trogen destroys  life,  and  oxygen  destroys  life,  but 
nitrogen  and  oxygen  together  support  life.  We 
can  neither  explain  nor  alter  the  facts.  We  can- 
not add  one  cubit  to  our  stature,  nor  make  one 
hair  of  our  heads  white  or  black.  How  worse  than 
useless,  then,  for  us  to  attempt  to  divorce  science 
and  rehgion.  How  thousand-fold  orphaned  should 
we  be,  if  we  could  cut  loose  from  God.  How 
senseless  is  it  for  us  to  construct  our  little  theories 
from  otir  fragmentary  facts,  —  houses  of  straw, 
which  a  breath  from  the  next  generation  may 
blow  away,  —  and  then  stand  off  and  exclaim,  "  Is 


60  ORDINANCES. 

not  this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built  ?  "  O 
fools  and  slow  of  heart !  He  that  sitteth  in  the 
heavens  shall  laugh  !  The  Lord  shall  have  us 
in  derision. 

But,  on  the  other  side,  who  is  it  that  is  working 
this  divorce  of  science  and  rellmon  ?  Not  the 
"undevout  astronomer,"  not  the  philosopher,  who, 
in  the  strength  of  his  mighty  Intellect,  refuses 
to  believe  in  the  need  or  the  fact  of  revelation, 
and  scouts  the  idea  of  a  miracle.  To  be  sure, 
he  does  what  he  can.  He  harnesses  himself  to 
Satan's  chariot,  and  drags  with  all  his  might  and 
main ;  but  the  Lord  has  taken  off  the  wheels, 
and  It  would  be  very  up-hill  work,  if  you.  Chris- 
tian brother,  did  not  stand  close  in  the  rear  and 
push.  One  sinner  destroys  much  good,  but  not 
so  much  as  the  conscientious,  narrow-minded, 
bigoted  Christian  destroys.  It  Is  you  who  do  the 
mischief,  —  you,  who  refuse  to  recognize  anything 
as  religious  or  devout  or  Christian  unless  it  Is 
measured  off  by  your  yard-stick  ;  you,  who,  with 
unskilful  hands,  build  fences  high  and  wide,  and 
with  presumptuous  hps  cry  aloud,  "  The  temple 
of  the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  temple 
of  the  Lord  are  these  " ;  you,  who  denounce  those 
who  are  seeking  the  pearl  of  great  price  because 
they  do  not  push  their  search  in  your  domains  ; 
you,  who  lay  upon  the  necks  of  disciples  a  burden 
which  neither  our  fathers  nor  we  were  able  to 
bear  ;  you  who  distrust  the  discoveries   and  dis- 


ORDINANCES.  61 

courage  the  advances  of  science  because  they 
trench  upon  your  crude,  preconceived  notions  of 
truth ;  you,  who  seem  to  fancy  that  in  the  "march 
of  mind  "  the  ark  will  topple  over  unless  you  put 
forth  unsanctified  hands  to  steady  it ;  you,  who 
wantonly  or  ignorantly  confound  looking  at  God 
through  nature,  with  looking  at  nature  as  God,  — 
him  who  strengthens  his  faith  by  studying  the 
wonderful  works  of  God,  w^ith  him  who  first 
wrests  them  from  their  author,  and  then  substi- 
tutes them  for  faith,  changing  the  beauty  of 
ear-rings  and  bracelets  into  the  hideousness  of  a 
golden  calf,  and  then  falling  down  and  worship- 
ping it. 

Do  not,  by  any  possibility,  misunderstand  me 
to  advocate  that  namby-pambyism  that  rejects 
the  creeds  which  it  has  not  strength  enough  to 
grasp ;  keeps  itself  afloat  in  a  \veak  solution  of 
feeble  sentiment,  second-hand  poetry,  borrowed 
metaphysics,  and  stolen  Christianity;  proves  its 
independence  of  thought  by  not  thinking  at  all ; 
its  elevation  above  the  atmosphere  of  belief,  by 
exploding  in  perpetual  vacuum  ;  reviles  the  in- 
tellect which  it  cannot  fathom  ;  pelts  with  mud 
the  dead  lions  wdiose  living  roar  would  have  im- 
parted to  its  heels  a  vigor  never  possessed  by  its 
head;  mocks  at  the  Samsons,  blind  and  chained, 
gi'inding  in  the  prison-houses  of  error,  from  whose 
little  finger,  when  free,  it  would  have  shrunk  in 
shuddering  dismay ;  and,  decrying  the  ministry  of 


62  ORDINANCES. 

the  word,  is  itself  a  perpetual  sermon  on  the  text, 
"  Yanitj  of  vanities."  A  creed  is  but  the  ex- 
pression of  belief,  and  though  the  wisest  man 
probably  believes  something  that  is  not  true,  the 
very  worst  of  creeds  is  better  than  no  creed  at  all. 
Nothing  is  so  fatal  as  indifference.  In  the  snow- 
country  it  is  better  to  go  in  the  wrong  road  than 
to  stop  going  altogether.  The  man.  who  has  no 
belief,  would  better  sell  all  that  he  has  and  buy 
one. 

The  natural  religion  that  I  mean  is  referred  to 
in  the  sixty-fifth  Psalm.  The  old  Hebrews,  half- 
civilized  as  they  were,  if  not  rather  half-savage, 
were  wiser  in  this  thing;  than  we.  To  them  it 
was  the  voice  of  the  Lord  that  broke  the  cedars 
of  Lebanon.  It  was  the  Lord  that  sat  upon  the 
flood.  They  saw  his  mercy  in  the  heavens  and 
his  faithfulness  reaching;  unto  the  clouds.  It  was 
he  who  prepared  rain  for  the  earth,  and  made  the 
grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains,  who  gave  to 
the  beast  his  food,  and  to  the  young  ravens  which 
cried,  who  filled  them  with  the  finest  wheat,  scat- 
tered the  hoar-frost  like  ashes,  called  forth  his  ice 
like  morsels,  caused  his  wind  to  blow  and  the 
waters  to  flow,  brought  out  the  hosts  of  the  stars 
by  number,  and  called  them  all  by  name. 

Well  will  it  be  for  us  when  the  unlearned  seek 
Avisdom,  and  the  learned  humility ;  when  the 
fool  on  the  one  side  and  the  philosopher  on  the 
other,  —  the  child  in  knowledge  and  he  that  is  a 


ORDINANCES.  63 

hundred  years  old,  —  shall  alike  call  not  only  upon 
his  angels  to  praise  the  Lord,  but  "  Praise  ye  him, 
sun  and  moon  :  praise  ye  him,  all  ye  stars  of  light. 
Praise  him,  ye  heaven  of  heavens,  and  ye  waters 
that  be  above  the  heavens.  Fire,  and  hail ;  snow, 
and  vapor ;  stormy  wind,  fulfilling  his  word ; 
mountains,  and  all  hills  ;  fruitful  trees,  and  all 
cedars  ;  beasts,  and  all  cattle  ;  creeping  things, 
and  flying  fowl ;  praise  the  name  of  tlie  Lord : 
for  He  commanded,  and  they  were  created.  His 
name  alone  is  excellent ;  his  glory  is  above  the 
earth  and  heaven." 

AssembHng  together  for  prayer  and  praise  is  rath- 
er the  festival  of  our  religion  than  its  practice.  The 
work,  the  duty,  the  struggle,  the  thick  and  brunt  of 
the  battle,  come  in  the  week-days.  We  meet  to 
eat  the  bread  and  drink  the  waters  of  life.  Dur- 
ing the  week  these  ought  to  enter  into  the  system, 
becoming  blood  and  brain  and  nerve  and  sinew. 
If  a  man  stays  away  from  the  banquet,  he  has  his 
share  of  all  the  sorrow  and  suffering  appointed 
to  men  ;  yet  rejects  the  consolation  which  the 
gentle  ministrations  of  the  Gospel  afford.  The 
curse  that  was  pronounced  upon  Adam  falls  just 
as  heavily  on  him  ;  yet  he  closes  his  ear  to  the 
soothino;  voice  that  would  fain  make  him  forcrct 
the  burden,  and  rejects  the  outstretched  hand  that 
would  help  him  bear  it.  His  path  is  steep  and 
difficult,  like  all  paths,  but  he  will  not  take  the 
proffered  cup  that  would  "medicine  his  weariness." 


64  ORDINANCES. 

If  it  is  his  ignorance,  he  is  surel}'-  to  be  pitied ;  shall 
he  be  any  the  less  pitied  if  it  is  his  sin  ?  Is  not 
sin  the  saddest  of  all  sorrows  ?  It  was  over  wild 
and  wicked  men  —  a  fierce  and  violent  rabble  — 
that  Christ's  heart  melted  in  infinite  compassion. 
"  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  hillest  the 
prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee  J  ^ 
It  is  this  Divine  pity  that  we  need,  —  this  godlike 
yearning  over  sin-sick  souls.  We  are  too  apt  to 
be  wanting  in  charity,  tenderness,  consideration. 
We  try  to  drive  wdiere  we  should  seek  to  win. 
We  remember  Christ's  "  O  serpents,  generation 
of  vipers  ! "  and  forget  his  "  that  ye  love  one 
another."  We  are  more  ready  to  follow  him 
with  the  scourge  of  small  cords  in  our  hands,  than 
with  his  new  commandment  in  our  hearts.  If 
God  saw  as  man  sees,  scarcely  could  tlie  righteous 
be  saved.  He  knoweth  our  frame;  He  remem- 
bereth  that  we  are  dust.  Man,  often  ignorant  of 
the  one,  is  often  forgetful  of  the  other.  We  can 
hardly  be  too  severe  in  judging  ourselves,  or  too 
lenient  in  judging  others.  Generally  he  who 
is  most  just  toward  himself  is  most  charitable 
toward   his  neighbors. 

There  is  not  a  little  self-indulgence  mingled 
with  our  church-going.  The  meeting-house  is 
not  always  the  post  of  duty.  A  father  goes  in 
the  morning  with  his  older  children,  and  leaves 
his  wife  with  a  fretful,  sickly  baby  in  her  arms. 
All  day  long  she  nm'ses  the  suffering  child.     Not 


ORDINANCES.  65 

a  moment  of  rest,  not  a  chapter  from  her  Bible, 
does  the  Sabbath  bring  to  her.  It  is  one  long 
weariness  and  anxiety.  I  think  that  man  would 
serve  God  a  great  deal  more  effectually  by  staying 
at  home  and  minding  the  baby  awhile,  so  that  the 
mother  can  get  a  little  quiet  out  of  her  Sunday, 
than  by  going  to  church  and  listening  compla- 
cently to  two  or  three  excellent  sermons. 

Fathers  and  mothers  often  foro-et  the  wants 
of  their  little  ones.  The  poor  things  are  too 
young  to  understand  or  enjoy  Sabbath  services, 
and  not  young  enough  to  be  kept  at  home  and 
amused,  — particularly  if  there  is  no  servant.  So 
the  time  which  should  be  a  holiday  for  the  body, 
and  a  holy  day  for  the  soul,  drags  wearily  on  for 
them.  They  nestle  restlessly,  or  sleep  mercifully, 
through  the  long  sermons,  and  employ  themselves 
at  home  as  best  they  can.  The  legitimate  chan- 
nels through  which  their  life  flows  being  cut  off, 
their  exuberance  is  continually  carving  for  itself 
new  and  illegitimate  ones.  Happy,  both  for 
themselves  and  their  parents,  is  the  hour  that 
sees  their  little  feet  pattering  bedward.  It  ought 
not  to  be  so.  Sunday  cannot  be  too  early  made 
the  bright  day  of  childhood.  All  that  is  beautiflil 
and  pleasant  and  sunshiny,  as  well  as  all  that  is 
holy,  ought  to  be  entwined  with  their  Sunday 
memories. 

This  cannot  be  done  without  self-sacrifice. 
Children  must  have  something  to  do  ;  otherwise 


66  ORDINANCES. 

they  will  make  sometliing,  and  that  something  will 
generally  be  mischief.  They  are  active,  and  not 
passive.  Their  spirits  should  not  be  repressed, 
but  guided.  It  is  not  enough  that  they  be  kept 
out  of  danger  ;  they  should  be  instructed,  amused, 
and  made  happy,  —  not  by  servile  petting,  but  by 
wise  training.  The  nursery  can  be  wrapped  in 
Sunday  surroundings.  It  needs  no  formidable 
preparation.  A  few  books  and  pictures  by  the 
father's  or  mother's  eye  and  hand  and  voice  can 
be  invested  with  attraction.  Love  is  fertile  in 
expedients. 

Yet  it  is  true  that  it  cannot  be  done  without 
time  and  trouble.  But  if  one  of  the  reasons  why 
children  are  born  is  not  to  discipline  their  parents 
by  trouble,  why  were  they  not  born  all  grown  up? 
It  would  be  far  easier  for  the  father  and  mother  to 
leave  their  children  to  the  care  or  the  carelessness 
of  a  hired  nurse  and  enjoy  themselves  in  church,  — 
or,  if  there  be  no  nurse,  to  take  the  young  unfor- 
tunates with  them,  to  sleep  or  wriggle  or  sit  out 
in  dumb,  sad  patience  what  seems  to  them  an  in- 
terminable sermon,  —  than  it  would  be  to  stay  at 
home  and  provide  for  the  wants  of  these  eager 
young  souls,  just  dancing  on  the  threshold  of  life  ; 
but  there  is  no  trouble  like  the  trouble  with  which 
a  child's  folly,  sin,  and  shame  bring  his  father's 
gray  hairs  to  the  grave.  If  the  day  should  ever 
come  when  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate, 
your   hopes    shattered,    and   your    heart  broken^ 


ORDINANCES.  67 

through  a  son's  misdoing,  you  will  look  with  bitter 
and  unavailing  regret  on  the  time  when  his  guile- 
less soul,  his  loving,  plastic  nature,  and  every  in- 
nocent charm  of  childhood,  called  to  you  to  cherish 
and  save,  and  you  would  not  hear.  There  is  that 
withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  to 
poverty. 

Devote  at  least  a  part  of  your  day  to  the  moral 
needs  of  your  dependent  little  ones.  Let  them  go 
to  church,  even  if  tliey  do  not  understand.  They 
need  discipline  as  well  as  their  parents,  and  they 
also  need  to  form  habits  of  church-going.  But 
do  not  keep  them  at  it  longer  than  they  are  able 
to  bear.  Let  pleasure  share  with  duty  the  oppor- 
tunity to  interest  and  the  power  to  teach. 

As  men  live  in  communities,  it  is  often  neces- 
sary to  ask,  "  What  will  be  the  influence  of  my 
action  ?  what  would  be  the  consequence  if  every 
one  should  do  as  I  do  ?  "  in  order  to  answer  the 
question,  "Am  I  doing  right?"  The  fact  that 
we  sometimes  lay  too  great  stress  on  this  point  is 
not  a  reason  why  we  should  lay  on  it  no  stress  at 
all.  While  it  is  true  that  a  right  action  is  always 
to  be  done,  and  a  wrong  action  alv/ays  to  be 
shunned,  be  the  consequences  what  they  may,  it 
is  also  true  that  there  are  actions  whose  character 
is  determined  by  the  consequences  which  are  de- 
signed, or  which  may  be  expected  to  flow  from 
them.  If  a  boy  goes  to  college,  or  a  girl  takes  a 
daily  v^alk,  because  it  is  what  he  or  slie  likes  to  do 


68  ORDINANCES. 

better  than  anything  else,  it  is  simply  innocent ; 
if  they  do  it  against  their  inclination,  bnt  cheer- 
fully because  their  father  wishes  it  and  they  desire 
to  obey  and  please  him,  it  becomes  virtuous  ;  if 
beyond  this  they  are  actuated  by  the  desire  to  do 
right,  —  to  please  God  by  obeying  tlieir  father,  —  it 
is  religion.  The  motive  of  action  often  lifts  the 
action  out  of  the  slough  of  sin,  or  off  the  plane 
of  innocence,  to  the  higher  planes  of  virtue  and 
religion.  The  Paul  who  withstood  Peter  to  the 
face  because  he  was  to  be  blamed,  was  the  same 
Paul  who  would  eat  no  meat  while  the  world  stand- 
eth,  lest  he  make  his  brother  to  offend.  It  was 
the  motive  alone  which  made  the  first  act  bravery 
and  not  brawling ;  and  the  second,  consideration 
and  not  cov/ardice.  The  boldness  with  which  he 
bearded  Peter  was  no  more  praiseworthy,  and 
certainly  I  think  less  rare,  than  the  liberality  and 
courtesy  which  induced  him  to  abstain  from  meat. 
Inextricably  woven  together  as  the  lives  and 
destinies  of  men  are,  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number  seems  to  be  the  direct  object  of 
that  course  of  action  whose  ultimate  end  is  to  glo- 
rify God  and  enjoy  him  forever.  So  far  as  indi- 
vidual happiness  may  consist  therewith,  it  is  to  be 
consulted  ;  but  if  the  tvv^o  clash,  individual  happi- 
ness must  give  way.  Now  it  often  happens  that 
the  two  do  clash.  The  InVliest  real  good  of  the 
many  can  be  obtained  only  by  sacrificing  the 
highest  apparent  good  of  the  few.     Yet  does  this 


ORDINANCES.  69 

in  no  wise  affect  the  duty  of  all  —  not  excepting 
the  sufferers  themselves  —  to  work  for  the  highest 
general  good.  Common  law  recognizes  this.  A 
butcher^  is  not  allowed  to  place  his  slaughter-house 
wherever  it  may  be  most  convenient  to  himself; 
nor  a  farmer  to  dam  up,  for  his  own  purposes,  in 
his  own  field,  a  brook,  whose  stoppage  would  di- 
minish the  value  of  his  neighbor's  field.  If,  then, 
a  man  is  not  suffered  by  law  to  benefit  his  purse 
at  the  expense  of  his  neighbor's,  he  certainly  ought 
not  to  be  allowed  by  religion  to  benefit  his  soul  at 
the  expense  of  his  neighbor's.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
I  do  not  suppose  this  can  ever  happen.  Material 
and  spiritual  laws  differ  so  far,  that  the  good  which 
he  might  obtain  from  his  liberty  would  be  over- 
balanced by  the  evil  wliich  he  would  suffer  from 
his  selfishness. 

Attendance  and  non-attendance  upon  church- 
services  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  decided  solely  by 
their  effects  upon  individuals,  but  upon  the  com- 
munity. A  man  may  believe  that  he  should  re- 
ceive more  benefit  by  stopping  away  from  church 
altogether ;  yet,  unless  he  thinks  it  would  be  bet- 
ter on  the  whole  for  every  one  to  do  the  same, 
and  Sabbath  services,  therefore,  to  be  discontin- 
ued, it  would  not  be  right  for  him  to  do  it.  Event- 
ually he  would  not  suffer,  since,  as  I  have  before 
intimated,  his  loss  in  one  direction  would  be  more 
than  compensated  by  his  gain  in  another.  But  a 
conscientious  and  wise  man  would  not  probably 


70  ORDINANCES. 

consider  a  difference  of  opinion  or  of  taste  between 
himself  and  his  pastor  or  his  fellow-worshippers 
sufficient  to  justify  such  a  course  of  action.  Noth- 
ing would  be  enough  except  a  conviction  J:hat  his 
attendance  would  be  a  connivance  at  wrong,  —  in 
which  case,  he  would  think  it  right  for  every  man 
to  do  the  same. 

A  man  might,  indeed,  say  that  he  would  have 
every  one  imitate  himself  in  so  far  as  that  he  should 
judge  for  himself,  and  go,  or  refrain  from  going, 
as  he  chose  ;  and  when  the  Millennium  comes,  I 
have  no  doubt  this  is  precisely  what  we  shall  do ; 
but  for  a  few  years  more,  probably,  we  shall  have 
to  act,  not  simply  with  reference  to  the  true,  the 
thoughtful,  the  wise,  and  the  good,  whose  sole 
object  is  to  find  the  right  path,  and  to  walk  there- 
in, but  to  the  careless,  the  frivolous,  the  unthink- 
ing, the  selfish,  who  need  to  be  coaxed  and  tempted 
and  drawn  and  driven  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
We  will  not,  however,  dwell  on  this  part  of  the 
subject,  but  consider  the  consequences  that  would 
ensue  if  every  one  should  adopt  the  plan  of  going 
to  church  once  or  twice  on  Sunday,  instead  of 
twice  or  thrice. 

I  shall  suppose  that  a  plan  is  to  be  adopted.,  — 
intelligently,  conscientiously,  from  principle,  —  and 
not  that  a  habit  is  to  be  fallen  into  carelessly,  from 
Indifference  or  laziness.  And  here  let  me  say,  my 
irreligious  friend,  that  you  can,  if  you  choose, 
wrest   my   words,    as   the    words   of  better  and 


ORDINANCES.  71 

wiser  persons  than  I  have  been  wrested,  to  your 
own  destruction,  but  I  disclaim  responsibihty  for 
any  such  consequences.  I  shall  express  my  views 
as  clearly  as  I  can  ;  and  if  lukewarm  piety  in  any 
of  its  thousand-fold  manifestations  shall  be  aided 
or  abetted  by  any  word  of  mine,  it  will  be  because 
I  have  not  the  intellectual  power  to  express  my 
opinions  and  convictions  in  intelligible  language. 
What  I  wish  and  design  is,  not  to  smooth  the  broad 
way,  but  to  knock  as  many  stumbling-blocks  as 
possible  out  of  the  narrow  way.  I  address  myself 
particularly  to  the  conscientious,  to  Christians,  to 
those  who  would  count  all  things  but  loss  if  they 
might  so  win  souls  to  Christ,  to  men  who  for  the 
truth's  sake  would  march  to  the  stake,  who  would 
willingly  prove  all  things  in  order  that  they  might 
hold  fast  that  which  is  good,  but  who,  in  pursuit 
of  noblest  ends,  do  not  employ  the  wisest  means. 
I  address  them  not  for  their  own  sakes  merely,  but 
for  the  sake  of  the  lost  souls  who  wander  up  and 
down,  poor  and  miserable  and  blind  and  naked, 
to  whom  the  light  of  God's  Word  is  dimmed  by 
the  imperfections  of  the  glass  through  which,  al- 
most alone,  it  darkly  shines  on  them.  If  there 
are  Christians  who  are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the 
present  state  of  things,  —  who  think  that  every- 
thing is  doing  that  can  be  done  to  Christianize 
the  world,  —  w^ho  believe  that  all  future  changes 
in  modes  of  operation  must  be  of  degree,  not  of 
kind,  —  I  do  not  speak  to  them;  but  to  those  who 


72  ORDINANCES. 

believe  in  a  moral  as  well  as  in  a  material  progres- 
sion, —  who  believe  that  in  grasping  truth  we 
have  not  attained  all  truth,  —  who  would  gladly 
receive  from  any  quarter,  however  humble,  any 
suggestion,  however  faint,  which  professes  to  en- 
deavor to  show  how  "  one  more  unfortunate"  may 
be  brought  in  from  the  highways  and  hedges  to 
the  feast  of  the  Lord. 

The  first  obvious  result  would  be  irregular,  and 
often  small  audiences,  which  would  embarrass  and 
discourage  the  minister.  This,  however,  is  an  evil 
not  without  remedy.  The  minister,  being  a  sen- 
sible man,  as  well  as  a  devout  Christian,  has  only 
to  proportion  the  number  of  his  services  to  the 
number  of  his  hearers.  If  a  large  part  of  his  con- 
gregation prefer  no  afternoon  sermon,  why  should 
he  not  omit  the  afternoon  sermon  ?  In  every 
place  where  there  is  more  than  one  Evangehcal 
church,  the  ministers  could  preach  in  their  own 
churches  in  the  morning,  and  have  preaching  by 
turns  in  each  other's  churches  in  the  afternoon. 
This  would  give  those  who  wish  to  go  all  day  an 
opportunity  to  do  so,  while  it  would  also  be  con- 
venient for  those  who  may  be  detained  in  the 
morning.  The  father  and  mother  or  nurse  could 
take  turns  in  minding  the  little  ones  at  home,  and 
at  the  same  time  feel  that  they  were  reaping  the 
full  benefit  of  the  pastor's  ripest  thought.  For 
(as  a  second  result)  any  man's  one  sermon  a  week 
would  probably  be  better  than  the  best  of  his  two 


ORDINANCES.  73 

a  week,  on  an  average  ;  while  he  who  addresses  a 
congregation  kathered  from  two  or  three  churches 
would  be  excited  by  that  circumstance  to  do  his 
best,  and  his  best  would  be  better  than  if  he  were 
obliged  to  write  two  or  three  sermons  every  week. 
There  may  be  objections  to  this  plan.  The  mother 
who  stays  at  home  with  the  baby  in  the  morning, 
might  choose  to  hear  her  own  minister  in  the 
afternoon  rather  than  be  obliged  to  have  recoui'se 
to  a  stranger.  This,  however,  is  only  one  of 
several  disadvantages  that  arise  naturally  from 
babies,  and  must  be  compensated  from  domestic 
resources.  Arrangements  can  be  made  so  that 
she  can  hear  her  own  pastor  once  a  fortnight  at 
least,  and  a  good  sermon  once  a  fortnio;ht  is  better 
than  a  poor  one  once  a  week.  The  deficiency  must 
be  made  up  by  considerations  of  the  general  good, 
—  assuming,  of  course,  that  the  general  good 
would  thereby  be  increased.  Another  objection 
is,  that,  unfortunately,  the  relations  of  Christian 
congregations  are  sometimes  such  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  any  such  fraternal  commingling. 
Such  congregations  can  only  be  recommended  to 
give  up  preaching  altogether,  and  fast  and  pray 
themselves  into  a  better  state  of  mind.  The  petty 
feuds  and  jealousies  and  bickerings  which  some- 
times exist  between  neio^hborino;  concrregations 
are  a  disgrace  to  our  Christianity,  and  make  the 
''  See  how  these  Christians  love  one  another !  "  a 
burning  and  bitter  sarcasm. 


74  ORDINANCES. 

A  better  plan  still,  and  one  that  seems  to  me  to 
combine  every  excellence  and  exclude  qyqvj  de- 
fect, is  that  which  has  already  been  adopted  by 
some  churches,  namely,  to  liaA^e  preaching  in  the 
mornino:  and  Sabbath  school  in  the  afternoon. 
This  can  be  done  equally  well  whether  there  be 
one  or  more  churches  in  a  town.  But  in  any 
society  it  should  be  universal  ;  that  is,  the  Sab- 
bath school  should  not  be  considered  as  established 
for  the  young  only,  but  for  all,  just  as  much  as  the 
preaching  is  for  all.  All  the  intellect,  all  the 
available  force  of  the  congregation,  should  be 
brought  in  and  used,  either  in  the  way  of  teach- 
ing or  learning.  It  should  be  no  superficial  thing, 
—  a  half-hour  or  an  hour  spent  in  languidly  tri- 
fling over  a  portion  of  Scripture  with  wandering 
eyes,  divided  attention,  and  ill-concealed  weari- 
ness. It  should  be  taken  hold  of  by  aU  —  both 
teachers  and  scholars  —  as  a  work  to  be  done. 
The  most  vio-orous  minds  should  be  enlisted,  the 
most  powerful  brains  aroused,  the  deepest  thouglit 
stirred.  Rough  minds  will  gain  polish,  and  pol- 
ished minds  will  gain  strength.  The  Bible  should 
be  looked  upon,  not  as  a  nosegay  to  be  gracefully 
carried  and  daintily  held  ;  but  as  a  mine  to  be 
explored  with  fixed  faith  in  its  treasured  gold. 
The  whole  congregation  can  be  put  on  the  quest 
of  one  truth.  The  child  and  the  man  can  investi- 
gate the  same  subject.  The  former  will,  of  course, 
only  take  its  more  obvious  bearings  ;    the  latter 


ORDINANCES.  75 

will  exploie  its  inner  workings  ;  and  between  the 
two  will  be  every  grade  of  interest  and  discovery. 
The  people  will  become  the  active  searchers  for 
truth,  instead  of  its  passive  recipients.  Yet  while 
their  efficiency  will  be  increased,  their  receptivity 
will  be  increased  in  proportion.  The  pastor's 
sermons  will  be  far  better  understood  and  appre- 
ciated, and  far  more  effectual,  because  the  soil  will 
have  been  broken  up  and  made  ready  for  the  seed, 
instead  of  being  hard  and  sun-baked  as  it  often  is. 
His  close  contact  with  his  people  Avill  give  point 
to  his  sermons.  The  Sabbath  school  will  be  a  band 
of  union.  Pastor  and  people  will  stand  on  com- 
mon ground.  He  will  get  at  hearts.  He  will 
learn  the  difficulties  that  beset  common  minds. 
He  will  strike  out  ideas.  New  trains  of  thought 
will  be  suggested  to  him.  He  will  be  continu- 
ally taking  new  stand-points.  He  will  know  the 
needs,  the  redundancies  and  the  deficiencies,  of 
his  people.  He  will  learn  their  spiritual  and  intel- 
lectual peculiarities,  and  where  the  most  effective 
blows  are  to  be  struck.  The  energies  of  the 
Church  will  be  brought  out  and  developed.  It 
will  be  a  power  instead  of  a  weight,  a  hive  in- 
stead of  a  sepulchre,  a  vineyard  of  the  Lord 
instead  of  a  valley  of  dry  bones. 

Instead  of  one  preacher,  there  will  be  fifty 
preachers.  Every  pastor  will  be  the  leader  of  a 
host,  and  every  church  a  magazine  of  weapons 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of 
strongholds. 


76  ORDINANCES. 

The  benefit  of  some  such  arrangement  to  cler- 
gymen, and  —  shice  whatever  benefits  the  pastor 
benefits  the  people  —  to  the  people,  would  be  m- 
calculable.  Not  only  would  it  give  him  a  broader 
sweep,  but  a  clearer  vision.  It  is  in  the  nature 
of  things  impossible  that  a  man  should  write  three 
sermons  a  week,  year  in  and  year  out,  without 
a  deterioration  in  the  quality  both  of  his  sermons 
and  of  his  mind  ;  not  that  his  last  sermons  grow 
worse  than  his  first,  but  worse  than  they  would 
have  been  if  he  wrote  fewer  of  them.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not,  as  many  suppose,  that  he 
writes  himself  empty,  that  the  fountain  runs  dry, 
that  he  has  nothing  to  say,  and,  being  forced  to 
say  something,  must  utter  platitudes.  On  the 
contrary,  I  suspect  that  ministers  scarcely  ever 
catch  up  with  their  note-books.  There  is  a  great 
deal  of  wickedness  in  the  world,  and  a  great  deal 
of  holiness  in  the  Bible.  It  is  the  business  of 
the  minister  to  bring  the  two  into  contact;  to 
transfix  man's  falsehood  with  God's  truth  ;  to 
dissipate  the  mists  of  sin  and  stupidity  with  the 
clear  shinino;  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  ;  to 
stab  every  brazen-faced  vice  with  the  sword  of 
the  Spirit ;  to  bring  the  lamp  of  the  word  to 
bear  upon  all  the  hidden  things  of  darkness,  and 
reveal  their  loathsomeness.  Whether  this  can  be 
done  with  or  without  observation,  it  is  equally 
his  duty  to  it.  We  must  reason  of  righteousness, 
temperance,  and  judgment  to  come,  whether  Fe- 


ORDINANCES.  77 

lix  scoff  or  tremble  ;  and  until  there  remains  on 
earth  no  sin  to  be  rebuked,  no  ignorance  to  be 
taught,  no  soul  to  be  saved,  the  minister  will 
hardly  lack  themes. 

But  to  their  successful  treatment  time  is  neces- 
sary ;  —  time  to  compare,  to  infer,  to  illustrate, 
and  to  present ;  time  to  observe  and  collate  facts, 
and  to  deduce  conclusions ;  time  to  investigate 
the  past,  to  comprehend  the  present,  and  to  shape 
the  future.  Can  any  minister,  who  at  all  appre- 
ciates his  calling,  save  time  enough  from  his 
family,  social,  and  parochial  duties  to  bring  all 
his  forces  to  bear  on  the  elucidation  of  three,  or 
even  two,  separate  subjects  every  week,  in  suth 
a  manner  that  the  presentation  of  his  views  shall 
be  in  every  case  the  very  best  that  it  is  possible 
for  him  to  make  ?  This  is,  I  think,  what  every 
minister  should  aim  at,  what  every  people  have 
a  right  to  expect,  and  what  they  should  endeavor 
by  every  means  in  their  power  to  help  him  do. 
If  the  same  amount  of  study,  research,  and 
thought  that  is  spread  over  three  sermons  were 
concentrated  on  one,  the  one  subject  would  be  so 
much  better  managed,  the  one  truth  would  be 
presented  with  so  much  more  deftness,  point,  and 
pungency,  that  the  Gospel  would  seem  to  star-t 
up  into  new  life.  The  very  consciousness  that  he 
could  give  his  whole  thought  and  strength  to  one 
thing,  would  deepen  the  one  and  increase  the 
other.     He  could  throw  himself  into  it  unreserv- 


78  ORDINANCES. 

edly,  distracted  by  no  misgivings  as  to  what  was 
to  become  of  the  second  sermon.  There  would 
be  a  unity  of  design,  a  skill  in  execution,  and  a 
completeness  of  effect,  which  would  not  only  give 
him  pleasure  in  the  present,  but  would  nerve  him 
to  new  exertions  in  the  future,  —  while  his  other 
duties,  having  a  reasonable  time  allotted  to  their 
performance,  would  refresh  instead  of  wearying 
him,  —  would  return  him  to  his  study  eager  to 
grapple  with  his  theme,  instead  of  hurried,  ner- 
vous, conscious  of  being  unable  to  do  anything  as 
it  should  be  done,  and  worried  by  that  conscious- 
ness into  still  greater  inability. 

To  the  people,  also,  it  seems  to  me  that,  apart 
from  every  other  consideration,  one  sermon  would 
do  just  as  much  good  as  two.  A  thorough  expo- 
sition of  one  doctrine  will  o-ive  them  food  enough 
for  thought, — a  forcible  inculcation  of  one  duty 
will  give  them  opportunity  enough  for  practice 
until  the  next  Sunday  comes.  In  fact,  the  im- 
pression of  one  sermon  is  likely  to  be  deeper 
than  that  of  two.  If  it  is  good,  it  may  be  better 
left  to  work  its  own  way  undisturbed.  If  it  is 
poor,  the  second  will  probably  be  poorer.  A 
good  sermon  following  close  upon  the  heels  of 
a  good  sermon,  distracts  the  attention,  annuls  the 
effects  of  the  first,  and  prevents  a  practical  appli- 
cation of  either.  A  poor  sermon  following  a 
good  one,  acts  like  damp  air  on  an  electrical 
machine. 


ORDINANCES.  79 

"  But  is  going  to  church  too  much  one  of  the 
crying  sins  of  the  age  ? "  It  has  been  asked. 
Is  it  not  a  waste  of  ammunition  to  fire  away  at 
what  is  at  most  only  an  error  of  judgment,  and 
th.it  in  the  right  direction,  when  so  many  grievous 
sins  spring  up  in  deadly  luxuriance  around  us  ? 
Very  true,  church-going  is  not  a  crying  sin,  and, 
if  it  sto[)ped  with  itself,  might  well  be  let  alone  ; 
but  when  one  has  a  headache,  you  put  mustard- 
poultices  on  his  feet.  Why  do  you  do  it  ?  His 
feet  are  well  enough  ;  it  is  his  head  that  is  dis- 
ordered. Why  not  poultice  that  ?  Because  you 
know  that  the  best  way,  or  at  least  one  of  the 
ways,  to  get  at  his  head,  is  through  his  feet. 
The  head  and  the  feet  and  the  limbs  are  not 
separate  individualities,  but  members  of  one  body ; 
and  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members 
suffer  with  it ;  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the 
members  rejoice  with  it.  If  the  feet  are  too 
swift,  whether  to  evil  or  to  good,  it  is  not  the 
feet  only  that  presently  falter,  but  the  whole  head 
is  sick  and  the  wdiole  heart  faint.  So  also  is 
Christ.  Ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  members 
in  particular.  Wrong  in  one  may  produce  wrong, 
either  the  same  or  different,  in  another  ;  and  even 
error  may  produce  wrong.  Consumption  in  one 
generation  gives  asthma  to  the  next.  The  moth- 
er's scrofula  distorts  the  child's  spine.  The 
drunkard's  blear  eyes  come  out  in  the  son's  blood- 
less lips.     Is   it  not  possible   that  there  may  be 


80  ORDINANCES. 

a  closer  connection  than  you  think  between  your 
multiplication  of  new  moons  and  sacrifices,  and 
the  mournful  companies  that  are  going  down  to 
the  chamber  of  death  ?  If  they  be  not  the  "  cry- 
ing sin,"  may  they  not  be  one  of  the  causes  that 
produce  it?  Or,  if  they  do  not  actually  produce 
it,  do  they  tend  to  prevent  its  immediate  removal  ? 
No  crime  is  so  small  that  we  can  afford  to  commit 
it,  no  mistake  so  slight  that  we  can  afford  to  make 
it.  A  single  misplaced  figure  in  the  calculation 
sends  a  ship  plunging  upon  the  pitiless  rocks,  and 
the  waters  sweep  over  it  forever. 

That  people  sin  is  no  reason  why  we  should  go 
on  blundering.  Our  brother's  faults  are  no  excuse 
for  our  foibles.  Because  men  cheat  each  other, 
shall  we  lie  in  bed  in  the  morning  ?  Shall  we 
pursue  a  coui'se  of  action  not  the  best,  because  it 
is  not  the  worst? 

Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God.  But  there 
are  two  ways  of  glorifying  him ;  one  is  to  worship 
him,  the  other  is  to  work  with  and  for  him.  In 
the  one,  we  meet  to  call  upon  his  name,  to  praise 
his  excellences,  to  discover  his  will ;  in  the 
other,  we  strive,  or  ought  to  strive,  to  get  his 
Gospel  into  the  heart,  and  bring  it  out  in  the  life, 
of  Smith  the  merchant,  and  Brown  the  farmer, 
and  Jones  the  pickpocket,  and  Jenkins  the  poli- 
tician. If  a  great  sin  stands  in  the  way  of  Christ, 
and  prevents  his  advance,  by  all  means  slay  the 
great  sin ;   but  if  a  little   error    retards    his  ap- 


ORDINANCES.  81 

proacli,  do  not  hesitate  to  remove  that,  even  if  the 
sin  be  not  slain.  Whatsoever  thy  hand  finds  to 
do,  do  it  with  thy  miglit. 

I  do  not  consider  that  those  who  stop  at  home 
in  the  morning  because  it  is  cloudy,  in  the  after- 
noon because  it  is  warm,  in  the  evenino;  because 
it  is  foggy,  —  who  saunter  lazily,  or  ride  aimlessly, 
or  read  indiscriminately,  or  doze  listlessly  through 
the  Sabbath  hours,  —  have  solved  the  problem. 
While  I  do  not  desire  to  see  the  Sabbath  become 
a  Jewish  rite  on  the  one  hand,  neither  do  I  desire 
to  see  it  become  a  German  holiday  on  the  other, 
but  a  Christian  festival.  It  should  be  a  day  of 
rest ;  but  indolence  and  negligence  are  not  rest ; 
nor  is  a  mere  ceasino;  from  labor  the  hiMiest  kind 
of  rest. 

The  Sabbath  was  made  for  us.  Let  us  neither 
abuse  nor  neglect,  but  use  it.  Let  it  be  the 
servant  of  our  souls  ;  not  the  slave  either  of  our 
prejudice  or  our  folly.  I  claim  and  desire  no  lib- 
erty but  that  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us  free. 
That  I  want  in  largest  measure. 

O  for  the  tender,  loving,  considerate  spirit  of 
Christ,  who,  by  a  new  consecration,  gave  the 
Sabbath  doubly  to  man,  —  to  be  alike  the  ser- 
vant of  his  humblest  needs  and  his  highest  aspi- 
rations ! 


4* 


IV. 


CHURCH-SITTINGS. 


OTWITHSTANDING  the  high  esti- 
mation in  which  we  hold  pubKc  wor- 
ship, we  keep  back  a  large  part  of  the 
^br-^CTT-^J^  communitj  from  joining  in  public 
worship.  While  with  one  hand  we  unduly  press 
men  hito  the  Church,  with  the  other  we  unjustly 
shut  them  out.  This  must  be  wrong.  Any  sys- 
tem must  be  wrong  which  prevents  the  poor  from 
hearing  the  Gospel.  When  the  disciples  of  John 
would  know  from  Christ's  own  lips  whether  he 
was  indeed  the  Messiah,  the  Deliverer,  he  gave 
them  certain  signs  whereby  they  should  be  able 
to  judge  for  themselves.  One  of  these  signs  was 
"  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  unto  them." 
If  that  was  a  criterion  in  the  days  of  Christ,  I 
know  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  a  criterion 
now.  But  if  it  is,  there  are  many  churches  whose 
creed  may  be  profoundly  orthodox,  yet  whose 
practice  in  this  respect  would  not  entitle  them  to 
be  called  Christian  churches. 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  83 

Magnificent  church  edifices  are  not  objection- 
able, if  rightly  come  by.  Nothing  is  too  rich,  too 
beautiful,  too  grand,  for  the  temple  of  the  Most 
High  ;  but  if,  when  these  structures  are  built, 
they  are  accessible  only  to  the  rich,  they  are  not 
the  temples  of  the  Lord,  but  the  temples  of  the 
money  that  built  them.  I  do  not  see  how  they 
can  be  anything  but  an  abomination  to  the  Lord. 
A  majority  of  Christians  profess  to  believe  that 
tlie  ordinances  of  the  Sabbath  day  are  an  especial 
and  paramount  "  means  of  gi'ace."  If,  then,  Chris- 
tians build  costly  churches,  and  cause  that  "  every 
door  is  barred  with  gold,  and  opens  but  to  golden 
keys,"  what  are  they  doing  but  practically  and 
effectually,  on  their  own  showing,  shutting  poor 
people  out  fi'om  the  means  of  grace?  Combin- 
ing the  doctrines  and  the  customs  of  some  church- 
es, we  can  but  arrive  at  the  conclusion,  that  it  is 
easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a 
needle  than  for  a  poor  man  to  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  Heaven.  Why  should  we  send  money  to 
convert  tlic  heathen  abroad,  and  shut  church-doors 
in  the  faces  of  poor  Christians  at  home  ?  We  do 
it.  Pew-rents  in  several  —  I  think  in  many  —  of 
the  churches  in  our  laro;e  cities  are  such  as  to  ren- 
der  it  impossible,  not  only  for  the  impoverished, 
but  wellnigh  impossible  for  any  but  the  rich,  to 
obtain  seats.  A  mechanic,  moving  into  the  city 
from  a  country  village,  with  a  family  to  support,  a 
clerk  with  a  salary  of  a  thousand  dollars,  a  young 


84  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

mercliant  strugii'Hno'  for  existence,  cannot  take  a 
pew  and  go  to  church  with  his  family.  And  if  he 
stays  at  home,  and  gradually  loses  the  distinctive- 
ness of  Sunday,  —  if  his  children  grow  up  without 
any  church  home,  or  any  of  the  influences  and 
associations  that  often  do,  and  always  should,  clus- 
ter around  a  church  home,  —  am  I  my  brother's 
keeper  ? 

How  must  these  things  look  to  those  who  are 
thus  shut  out  ?  The  industrious  and  respectable 
mechanic,  who  has  been  trained  under  religious 
influences,  though  he  has  not  wholly  yielded  to 
them,  and  who,  coming  from  tlie  social  and  home- 
like country  into  the  city,  naturally  seeks  among 
the  first  requisites  a  place  wdiere  his  family  may 
weekly  worship  according  to  tlieir  w^ont,  —  what 
does  he  think,  how  does  he  feel,  as  he  turns  away 
from  one  and  anotlier  church  because  the  expense 
will  not  permit  him  to  enter  ?  The  poverty- 
stricken,  squalid,  houseless,  friendless  poor,  —  do 
such  customs  tend  to  induce  the  belief  in  their 
hearts  that  Christianity  is  the  common  blessing  of 
all  mankind  ?  How  lono;  shall  the  rio;ht  hand 
baffle  the  left  ?  How  long  shall  we  declare  that 
the  Gospel  is  to  be  the  redemption  of  all,  that  the 
good  tidings  of  great  joy  shall  be  to  all  people, 
and  then  stall  up  the  very  place  where  that  Gos- 
pel is  dis^^ensed,  the  very  place  where  those  good 
tidings  are  proclaimed,  as  closely  and  exclusively 
as  if  salvation  were  the  prerogative   of  moneyed 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  85 

men  ?  How  long  will  it  take  to  "  convert "  Bos- 
ton, New  York,  Baltimore,  at  this  rate  ? 

I  hav^e  heard  of  churches  where  the  pews  are 
locked,  and  only  their  owners  are  suffered  to  enter 
tliem.  May  they  stay  locked  to  all  Christian  men  ! 
O  my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their  secrets ! 
Unto  such  assemblies,  mine  honor,  be  not  thou 
united  !  These  pew-owners,  it  must  be  conclud- 
ed, expect  to  get  into  heaven  through  a  private 
entrance.  They  have  made  a  gravel-path  outside 
the  strait  and  narrow  way,  along  which  they 
may  walk  with  stretched-forth  necks  and  wanton 
eyes,  walking  and  mincing  as  they  go,  and  so  be 
happily  apart  from  vulgar  travellers  toward  the 
celestial  city.  There  is  a  postern-gate  remote 
from  the  thronged  portals,  which  opens  only  to 
their  touch.  They  have  rented  beforehand  the 
stateliest  of  the  many  mansions,  and  will  meet 
only  their  own  set  in  the  golden  streets.  Is  it 
religion  or  is  it  travesty  ? 

I  suppose  there  must  be  some  justification,  some 
cause,  for  this  thing.  If  there  is,  I  wish  it  could 
be  brought  forward.  I  am  utterly  at  a  loss  even 
to  conjecture  it.  To  me  it  looks  eminently  and 
only  unchristian,  —  directly  and  sharply  opposed 
to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  said  that  provision  is  made  for  the  poor, 
that  chapels  are  built  in  which  they  are  invited 
to  worship  without  any  expense.  But,  God  be 
thanked  !  the  great  majority  of  honest,  hard-work- 


86  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

ing  Northerners  have  too  much  dignity  and  self- 
respect  to  accept  ahns.  They  have  a  sensitiveness 
as  delicate  as  that  of  the  millionnaire.  They  will 
not  live  upon  his  charity  any  more  willingly  than 
he  will  live  upon  theirs.  And  this  feeling — call  it 
pride,  or  what  you  will  —  is  both  a  beneficial  and 
an  honorable  one.  It  is  a  bulwark  against  evil, 
and  he  intends  mischief  who  would  do  anything 
to  pull  it  down.  A  great  majority  of  these  peo- 
ple would  choose  to  stay  away  from  church  alto- 
gether, rather  than  become  the  recipients  of  char- 
ity ;  and  who  can  blame  them  ?  Moreover,  even 
if  they  were  willing  to  go  to  the  churches  pro- 
vided for  them,  the  defect  would  not  be  remedied. 
We  do  not  want  —  the  world  does  not  want  — 
one  church  for  the  rich  and  one  for  the  poor.  We 
want  a  church  where  the  rich  and  the  poor  meet 
together  ;  the  Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them  all.  In 
other  respects  there  may,  and  often  must,  be  dis- 
tinctions ;  but  here  every  man  stands,  a  naked 
soul  before  God.  Christ  died  for  all  alike.  Heaven 
beckons  to  all.  Alas  !  is  not  Hell  from  beneath 
moved  for  all  to  meet  them  at  their  coming  ?  In 
this  matter,  neither  circumcision  availeth  anything 
nor  uncircumcision  ;  but  whosoever  is  athirst,  let 
him  come  and  drink  freely,  without  money  and 
without  price.  Learning,  leisure,  wit,  wealth,  may 
be  the  boon  of  the  few,  but  the  Gospel  is  the  legacy 
of  humanity.  Christianity  cannot  be  broken  into 
grades  by  earthly  distinctions  without  detriment. 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  87 

At  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  the  master  and  the 
slave  alike  pariook  :  is  Christianity  more  exclu- 
sive than  Judaism  ?  Is  the  salvation  of  the  world 
a  less  powerful  solvent  than  the  salvation  of  the 
first-born  of  the  families  of  Israel  ?  If  Christ 
could  wash  the  feet  of  his  disciples,  cannot  those 
disciples  tolerate  each  other's  presence  ? 

I  believe  in  the  very  utmost  levelling,  the  thor- 
ough radical  democracy  of  the  Bible.  The  only 
degrees  it  knows  are  degrees  of  holiness.  Among 
them  that  are  born  of  women,  there  may  be  none 
greater  than  John  the  Baptist ;  yet  he  that  is 
least  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  greater  than 
he.  I  do  not  believe  religion  will  be  aggressive 
in  any  community  when  it  is  not  allowed  free 
course  to  run  and  be  glorified. 

Our  system  —  the  system  of  building  churches, 
and  selling  or  renting  the  pews — is  selfish  even 
in  its  appearance.  The  idea  of  personal  proper- 
ty is  prominent.  Surely  every  church  ought  to 
beacon  to  every  wayfarer.  Surely  there  should 
be  no  self  intruding  into  social  worship.  As  it  is 
now,  if  a  stranger  moves  into  your  parish,  you 
cannot  invite  him  to  your  church,  and  your 
church  hospitalities,  without  laying  yourself  open 
to  the  suspicion  of  catering  for  your  own  inter- 
ests. You  want  to  help  out  your  society ;  you 
want  his  money  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  parish. 
Your  hands  may  be  ever  so  clean,  but  they  will 
not  look  clean  to  a  wicked  and  perverse  generation. 


88  church-sittings: 

Wliy  cannot  the  whole  matter  of  church  taxes 
be  abohshed,  and  the  church  rest  entirely  upon 
free-will  offerings  ?  Why  not  let  every  man  be 
accountable  to  God  alone  for  what  he  shall  do  to 
—  shall  I  use  that  common  phrase  ?  —  "  support 
the  Gospel "  ?  No  ;  for  wrong  words,  even  if 
they  do  not  spring  from  wrong  ideas,  tend  to 
originate  and  perpetuate  them.  People  do  not 
support  the  Gospel ;  the  Gospel  supports  them. 
The  Gospel  will  live,  whether  they  do  or  do  not 
pay  their  five  or.  fifty  or  five  hundred  dollars  to 
uphold  it.  The  Gospel  will  live,  whether  they 
attack,  neglect,  or  cherish  it ;  but  without  the 
,  Gospel,  the  good  tidings,  there  is  for  them  no  life, 
"  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world  to 
come."  Our  work  is,  not  to  support  the  Gospel, 
but  to  spread  the  Gospel  and  drive  it  home.  The 
Gospel  is  no  pauper,  but  a  king.  We  are  not  to 
dole  out  to  it  a  fitful  pittance,  but  march  under  its 
banners,  conquering  and  to  conquer. 

1  would  have  the  whole  matter  of  church-rates 
taken  out  of  mercantile,  and  put  upon  missionary 
ground.  A  Christian  comnuuiity  has  built  a  costly 
church.  If  that  costly  cluu'ch  is  open  only  to  those 
who  can  afford  to  buy  a  pew  in  it,  it  would  much 
better  have  been  a  pine  shanty,  or  even  a  canvas 
tent.  If  the  mission  of  a  church  is  to  be  subordi- 
nate to  its  architecture,  then  architecture  is  a  de- 
vice of  the  Adversary.  Let  a  comnumity  build  a 
church,  and  then   throw  its   doors  wide   open   to 


CUUR  CH-SITTINGS.  89 

everybody,  —  yes,  to  everybody,  native  and  for- 
eign, black  and  while,  beggar,  brigand,  pick- 
pocket,—  the  worse  the  better,  —  and  then  archi- 
tecture may  become  the  handmaiden  of  the  Lord. 
Make  your  church  beautiful,  if  so  you  may  better 
express  your  love  to  God,  —  your  appreciation  of, 
and  your  gratitude  for,  the  beauty  which  he  has 
lavished ;  make  it  attractive,  if  so  you  may  better 
lure  outcasts  into  the  fold :  but  let  not  ostentation 
or  rivalry  or  ambition  reign  where  only  devotion 
should  dwell ;  for  so  you  shall  have  no  cherubim, 
with  outstretched  wings,  hovering  over  the  mercy- 
seat,  but  only  a  golden  calf. 

Do  you  say  that  the  by-w^ay  people  will  not 
come  to  church,  even  if  there  is  one  ?  Do  you 
get  the  church  ready,  do  you  open  the  doors,  then 
go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and  compel 
them  to  come  in  ;  meet  them  at  the  porch-door 
wdth  smiles,  and  warm  words,  and  hearty  hand- 
shakings ;  give  them  good  seats,  not  in  a  corner 
by  themselves,  but  among  your  own  friends,  with 
your  own  family,  or  by  your  own  self;  show,  if 
possible,  a  little  interest  in  them  during  the  week  ; 
and,  if  they  still  continue  stiff-necked  and  rebel- 
lious, think  how  much  harder  must  be  the  work 
of  the  missionaries,  who  go  thousands  of  miles  to 
meet  the  heathen  in  their  strongholds,  than  yours, 
who  find  your  heathen  under  the  droppings  of 
your  own  sanctuary  ! 

And  if  the  outcasts  do  not  come,  there  is  an- 


90  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

other  class  who  will,  —  the  poor  who  live,  not  by 
shifts,  but  by  honest  and  persistent  industry, — men 
and  women  whose  days  are  given  over  to  severe 
and  unintermitting  toil ;  who  have  money  scarcely 
beyond  the  utmost  needs  of  life  ;  whose  ingenuity 
expends  itself  in  making  a  cent  do  the  work  of  a 
dime,  and  a  dime  the  work  of  a  dollar ;  the  men 
and  women  who  cannot  incur  the  expense  of 
church-sittings,  yet  who  pre-eminently  need  the 
comfort  and  strength  of  church-service.  These 
people  ought  to  be  in  the  church.  They  need  the 
church,  and  the  church  needs  them.  They  ought 
to  be  in  it,  not  as  mendicants,  not  by  patronage  or 
permission,  but  as  children  of  one  Father,  disciples 
of  one  Christ,  members  of  one  flock  bound  to- 
gether by  a  common  need  and  a  common  hope. 
They  ought  to  stand,  rich  and  poor,  on  one  level, 
interchanging  friendly  greetings,  conversant  with 
each  other's  views  and  fears  and  feelings,  — joint 
students  of  the  Bible,  joint  servants  of  the  Lord. 
It  is  not  necessary  nor  possible  nor  desirable  tliat 
all  should  move  on  one  social  plane.  Tastes  and 
occupations  must  decide  that.  But  if  religion  is 
not  strono;  enouo;h  to  rise  above  social  distinctions, 
to  create  friendliness  between  different  classes,  to 
make  the  rich  kindly  and  genial  to  the  poor,  and 
not  patronizing  or  scornful,  —  to  make  the  poor 
trustful  and  serviceable  toward  the  rich,  and  not 
servile  or  haughty,  —  so  that  each  class  shall  be 
reckoned  the  friend  of  the   others, —  so  that  he 


CHURCH-SITTINGS,  91 

that  is  greatest  and  he  that  is  least  shall  alike  be 
the  servant  of  all,  —  tlien  religion  has  not  done 
the  work  which  it  was  appointed  to  do.  With  a 
church  free,  —  free,  not  with  inferences  and  con- 
ditions that  encroach  upon  self-respect,  but  abso- 
lutely free, — I  feel  sure  that  many,  many  more 
of  these  classes  would  find  their  way  into  the 
courts  of  the  sanctuary,  and  that  it  would  be 
much  more  a  sanctuary  than  it  is  now. 

But  how  shall  the  church  be  paid  for  ?  The 
warmest  missionary  feeling  does  not  pay  a  debt 
which  is  represented  by  coin.  Veiy  well.  A 
community  that  is  able  to  build  a  church,  and  sell 
pews,  is  able  to  build  a  church  without  selling  the 
pews.  If  you  are  rich  enough  to  build  a  church 
for  yourself,  you  are  rich  enough  to  build  it  for 
your  neighbors.  If  you  are  able  to  own  a  pew, 
you  are  able  to  give  it  away.  I  do  not  mean  that 
you  can  do  both,  but  you  can  do  one  as  well  as 
the  other.  Churches  are  now  built  mainly  by 
voluntary  contributions.  Let  them  still  be  built 
by  voluntary  contributions  ;  only,  when  they  are 
built,  let  them  be  churches,  and  not  ecclesiastical 
drawing-rooms.  Make  your  church  as  fine  as 
you  will,  only  not  too  fine  to  be  trodden  by  dusty 
feet.  Let  it  be  just  as  good  as  you  can  afford  to 
give  away  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  no  better; 
for,  beyond  this,  sin  lieth  at  the  door. 

But,  besides  the  original  outlay,  come  the  con- 
tmuous  expenses  of  preaching,  and  all  the  minor 


92  CHUR  CH-SITTINGS. 

details.  What  of  these  ?  I  would  have  every 
one  of  jou,  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  lay  by 
him  m  store  as  God  hath  prospered  him.  Let  the 
"  contribution-box  "  be  carried  around  on  Sunday, 
and  every  man  decide  for  himself  and  between 
himself  and  God  alone.  Then  the  rich  man  may 
give  of  his  abundance,  and  the  poor  man  of  his 
poverty,  and  both  out  of  the  love  of  their  hearts. 
Then  the  poor  man  may  feel  that  he  is  doing  his 
part  toward  bearing  the  good  tidings  to  a  sor- 
rowful world ;  and  if  he  cannot  bring  a  lamb 
witliuut  blemish,  nor  yet  a  turtle-dove,  nor  two 
young  pigeons,  his  tenth  part  of  an  ephah  of  fine 
flour  shall  be  a  shi-offering  holy  and  acceptable 
to  God. 

Would  this  give  but  a  precarious  support  to  a 
pastor  ?  Not  so  precarious  as  that  of  his  Master, 
who  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  —  not  so  pre- 
carious as  that  of  Elijah,  for  whom  the  ravens  were 
butcher  and  baker,  and  whose  drink  was  the  brook 
by  the  way,  —  not  so  precarious  even  as  it  is  now. 
The  minister  would  not  only  have  just  as  much 
money  as  he  now  has,  but  it  would  not  come  to 
him,  as  it  too  often  does,  grinding,  grating,  scrap- 
ing out  of  rusty  purses,  with  a  noise  of  friction  that 
puts  every  nerve  to  the  torture  ;  it  would  leap  out 
warm  from  the  heart,  shining  with  a  love-light 
brighter  than  any  gleam  of  gold,  and  so  have  to 
him  a  worth  that  no  mere  money  can  represent. 
As  ministers  receive  tlieir  salaries  now,  it  is  nei- 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  93 

ther  one  thing  nor  anotlier.  It  is  not  a  tax  which 
people  must  pay  or  go  to  prison,  and  it  is  not  a 
gift  which  blesseth  him  that  gives  and  him  that 
takes.  It  has  neither  the  inexorableness  of  the 
one,  nor  the  spontaneity  of  the  other.  It  has  free- 
will enough  to  admit  of  grumbling,  and  not  enough 
to  excite  gratitude.  It  is  a  miserable  half-and-half 
thing,  all  that  I  have  ever  seen  of  it.  I  do  not 
mean  that  every  man  of  a  parish  makes  his  "  min- 
ister's tax "  a  disagreeable  matter ;  but  there  is 
more  or  less  —  generally  more  —  disagreeableness 
to  contend  with  in  every  parish.  The  very  term 
"  minister's  tax  "  is  harsh.  It  does  state  exactly 
what  many  people  mean.  It  is  not  a  free-will 
offering  to  help  spread  the  Gospel.  It  is  not  a 
man's  part  to  support  the  government.  It  is  sim- 
ply and  solely  the  minister's  tax ;  and  it  is  not,  and 
never  will  be,  pleasant  to  have  a  man  take  you 
by  the  throat,  and  exclaim,  "  Pay  me  that  thou 
owest."  It  is  far  too  often  that  this  sum  is  paid 
as  if  it  were  a  personal  charity  to  the  minister.  A 
grumbles  because  he  is  called  on  to  subscribe  thir- 
ty-five,  while  B,  who  is  worth  twice  as  much  as 
he,  only  pays  thirty,  and  C  "  signs  off"  from  the 
parish,  and  pays  nothing  at  all,  and  it  is  a  burden 
everywhere.  By  having  a  system  of  free  offerings, 
all  this  would  be  abrogated.  Every  man  would 
be  his  own  guide,  and  antagonisms  would  be 
soothed  away.  He  that  pays,  pays  unto  the  Lord, 
and  he  that  pays  not,  unto  the  Lord  he  doth  not 


94  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

pay  It,  and  liimself  is  the  only  judge.  He  knows 
his  own  circumstances  better  than  anotlier,  and 
upon  each  returning  Sabbath  he  gives  as  God  has 
prospered  him.  He  is  not  mulcted  in  a  fine,  but 
to  the  Saviour  who  died  for  him  he  brino-s  a  thank- 

o 

offering,  grateful.  It  is  the  helping  hand  which 
Jesus  permits  him  to  reach  forth  to  save  the  world. 
It  is  the  effort  he  can  make  to  cause  that  Christ 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain. 

Why  appeal  to  the  lower  part  of  man's  nature, 
when  there  is  a  higher  open  to  appeal  ?  Why 
insist  that  that  shall  be  only  a  duty  which  might 
just  as  well  be  a  delight  ?  All  men  are  generous, 
if  you  but  approach  them  generously  ;  or  rather 
all  men  have  a  capacity  for  generosity,  and,  if  it  be 
not  developed,  it  ought  to  be  gently  and  genially 
educated  into  development.  If  it  do  not  unfold* 
in  the  kindly  sunshine,  there  is  surely  no  good  in 
trying  to  split  it  open  with  a  hammer.  Men  will 
sometimes  pay  the  "  minister's  tax  "  loath,  but  the 
Gospel  suffers  more  harm  than  it  receives  good 
from  their  money.  "  Of  every  man  that  giveth 
it  willingly  witli  his  heart,  ye  shall  take  my  offer- 
ing," commanded  Jehovah  to  Moses.  What  was 
the  result  ?  "  They  spake  unto  Moses,  saying. 
The  people   bring   much  more  than  enough  for 

the  service  of  the  work And  Moses  gave 

commandment,  ....  saying,  Let  neither  man  nor 
woman  make  any  more  work  for  the  offering  of 
the  sanctuary For  the  stuff  they  had  was 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  95 

sufficient,  and  too  muchy  Just  so  I  believe  it 
would  be  if  we  would  have  more  faith  in  God 
and  in  the  better  parts  of  human  nature,  and  less 
dependence  on  taxes  and  securities.  Ministers 
would  not  only  have  a  ''  support  "  for  the  body, 
but  for  the  heart  and  soul,  and,  perhaps  not  at 
first,  but  after  the  whole  system  was  in  full  play, 
there  would  be  large  surplusages  to  be  disposed 
of.  And  whatsoever  shall  seem  good  to  thee  and 
to  thy  brethren  to  do  with  the  rest  of  the  silver 
and  gold,  that  do  after  the  will  of  your  God. 

Another  objection  urged  against  church  com- 
munism is,  that  it  destroys  the  sweet  and  tender 
associations  which  cluster  around  the  family  pew. 
But  does  it  of  necessity  ?  Things  in  general  have 
a  wonderful  tendency  to  fall  into  grooves.  In  a 
certain  part  of  Massachusetts  there  are  commons 
extending  some  eight  miles.  As  you  approach 
them  from  the  city  a  sign-board  entreats,  "  Don't 
rut  the  roads."  Seeing  that  travellers  have  the 
whole  pasture-land  before  them,  one  would  sup- 
pose it  to  be  easy  to  comply  with  this  request ; 
but,  in  spite  of  broad  commons  and  supplicating 
sign-board,  right  along  in  the  same  track  goes 
carriage  after  carriage,  wearing  deeper  and  deeper 
ruts  into  the  sandy  soil,  till  it  is  already  become 
harder  for  a  light  wagon  to  get  oif  the  track  than 
it  seems  to  be  for  many  steam-carriages.  Would 
not  the  same  principle  obtain  in  churches  ?  AVould 
not  families  naturally  fall  into  the  same  places? 


96  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

and,  especially  if  they  wished  to  do  It,  would  they 
not  find  it  easy  of  accomijlishment  ?  Are  there  not 
in  our  cha})els  and  vestries  at  evening  meetings 
certain  seats  w^liere  you  always  expect  to  find 
certain  people?  Do  you  not  know  precisely  where 
to  look  for  Deacon  Smith  and  his  wife  ?  Are  not 
'Squire  Jones  and  his  family  always  here,  and  Dr. 
Brown  and  his  sister  always  there,  or  tliereabouts, 
and  all  without  any  quarrelling  or  luhhyiiig  ?  And 
if,  instead  of  chapel  and  occasional  meetings,  it 
w£re  church  and  reo-ular  service,  would  not  the 
tendency  be  still  stronger  ?  I  rather  think  affairs 
would  arrange  themselves  so  that  a  family  which 
would  fill  a  pew  would  be  allowed  to  occupy  a 
pew  just  as  regularly  as  if  it  had  a  quitclaim  deed 
to  it ;  and,  of  course,  the  longer  a  family  occupies 
one  pew,  the  stronger  becomes  its  claim  to  it.  Is 
not  this  enough  for  association  ?  It  surely  will 
not  be  said  that  ownership  is  necessary.  Nobody 
will  maintain  that  a  pair  of  lovers  -can  have  no 
tender  reminiscences  of  moonlit  walks  by  summer 
seas  because  they  do  not  hold  the  ocean  in  fee 
simple. 

But  supposing  it  were  true  that  associations 
would  be  somewhat  disturbed,  or  even  forestalled, 
would  that  be  really  a  conclusive  fact?  The 
church  Is  pre-eminently  for  social  worship.  The 
associations  appropriate  to  it  belong  to  the  great 
family  of  Christ.  There,  God  is  our  Father,  Jesus 
our  elder  brother,  and  all  who  love  him  and  all 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  97 

who  seek  him  are  his  children.  All  kinship  of  the 
flesh  ou^ht  to  he  subordinate  to  this  kinship  of 
spirit.  At  the  family  altar  you  offer  your  family 
worship.  By  the  very  act  of  going  to  church 
your  family  yields,  for  the  time,  its  family  life, 
throwino;  it  into  the  commonwealth,  and  becomino; 
a  part  of  the  great  congregation^  and  the  great 
congregation  becomes,  or  should  become,  one  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  What,  then,  have  any 
one's  personal  associations  to  do  against  the  utmost 
freedom  of  admittance  ?  Between  memories  and 
a  blank,  one  would  of  course  choose  memories  ; 
but  between  my  memories  and  my  brother's  life 
is  there  any  room  for  choice?  Shall  the  poor 
man's  children,  for  whom  Christ  died,  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  sanctuary,  that  your  children 
may  look  back  in  their  maturity  to  some  particular 
place  in  it  with  a  soft  sadness  and  love  ?  Shall 
the  doors  be  closed  to  his  children,  that  the  walls 
may  be  more  attractive  to  yours  ?  Shall  the  poor 
man  be  shut  out  of  the  church,  that  the  rich  man 
may  be  shut  into  a  pew  ? 

If  churches  were  filled  under  the  present  man- 
agement, the  principle  would  remain  the  same, 
though  the  practice  would  lose  the  most  superflu- 
ous of  its  odious  features.  It  would  still  be  invidi- 
ous for  the  rich  to  enjoy  a  Gospel  which  was  not 
available  to  the  poor.  But  the  offset  would  be 
that  a  rich  man's  soul  is  worth  just  as  much  as  a 
poor  man's  soul ;  and  whether  you  pay  for  a  pow 

5  G 


98  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

five  hundred  dollars  or  nothing,  a  church  can  be 
no  more  than  filled,  and,  having  filled  all,  the  duty 
would  be  to  build  others.  But  how  many  churches 
are  there  where  full  ranks  are  the  rule,  and  vacan- 
cies the  exception,  —  where,  morning  or  evening, 
there  is  no  opportunity  to  say,  "  And  yet  there  is 
room  "  ? 

A  man,  poor  in  money,  but  rich  in  mental  and 
moral  treasures,  tried  to  obtain  a  seat  for  himself 
and  his  family  in  one  of  the  Boston  churches,  — 
one  to  which  he  was  drawn  by  the  peculiar  adap- 
tation of  the  pastor's  preaching  to  his  own  spiritual 
wants.  He  was  willing  to  take  the  lowest  seat  in 
the  synagogue  ;  but  even  that  he  found,  upon  in- 
quiry, to  be  utterly  beyond  his  means.  So  he  goes 
roaming  about  the  city,  now  at  this  church,  now  at 
that,  now  at  none,  belonging  nowhere,  nowhere  at 
home.  I  went  one  afternoon  to  the  one  at  whose 
door  he  had  knocked  in  vain.  I  judged  at  least 
one  half  the  seats  to  be  empty.  Do  you  think  I 
did  not  long  to  go  up  into  that  pulpit  and  preach 
a  sermon  at  which  both  the  ears  of  every  one  that 
heard  it  should  tingle  ?  Woe  unto  you.  Scribes 
and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  ye  shut  up  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  against  men ;  for  ye  neither 
go  in  yourselves,  neither  suffer  ye  them  that  are 
entering  to  go  in. 

A  courteous  and  Christian  writer,  quoting  cer- 
tain remarks  regarding  pew-locking  in  the  first 
part  of  this  article,  while  putting  in  a  gentle  and 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  99 

partial  defence  of  the  custom,  thinks  the  remarks 
are  too  sweeping,  and  that  there  is  in  them  noth- 
ing of  the  sweet  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  Perhaps 
not,  but  the  Gospel  has  other  spirits  than  the  sweet 
one  ;  and  I  submit  that,  when  one  stands  face  to 
face  with  a  custom  which  openly  and  systemati- 
cally causes  that  the  poor  have  not  the  Gospel 
preached  unto  them,  it  is  no  time  for  the  exercise 
or  the  display  of  such  a  spirit.  It  was  not  the 
sweet  spirit  of  the  Gospel  which  the  Pharisees 
heard  in  Christ's  indignant  thunders.  It  was 
rather  the  strong,  yet  such  a  strong  as  brings  forth 
sweetness.  Nay,  I  may  almost  say  it  was  the  sweet 
spirit,  but  revealing  itself  in  another  guise.  It  was 
the  same  Divine  love  and  pity  that  shone  in  his 
tenderest  words,  —  love  for  the  poor,  the  ignorant, 
the  oppressed,  — which  fired  his  lips  against  those 
who  misled  and  oppressed  them.  And  when,  now, 
after  the  Gospel  has  had  free  course  to  run  and  be 
glorified  for  these  eighteen  hundred  years,  whole 
communities  name  themselves  with  Christ's  name, 
and  then,  in  order  to  receive  the  benefits  of  that 
Gospel  whose  own  proof  of  its  divinity  is  that  it  is 
to  be  preached  unto  the  poor,  form  themselves  into 
a  close  corporation  which  none  can  enter  but  by 
payment  of  a  fee  that  is  entirely  beyond  the  means 
of  a  large  majority  of  the  people,  it  seems  to  me  a 
spectacle  that  w^ould  have  received  the  severest 
denunciations  of  Christ,  and  should  receive  the 
severest  reprobation  of  Christians. 


100  CHUR  CH-SITTINGS. 

To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony.  If  the  Bible 
sanctions  this  practice,  it  is  right.  If  the  Bible 
discourages  it,  it  is  wrong.  But  if  it  is  not  direct- 
ly opposed  to  all  the  tendencies  of  Bible  teachings, 
then  Bible  teachings  are  not  plain  enough  to  be 
understood  by  a  common  mind.  If  it  is  opposed 
to  the  Bible,  then  the  men  who  advocate  and  up- 
hold it  are  bound  to  show  cause  for  their  action. 
The  burden  of  proof  lies  with  them,  and  not  with 
those  who  point  out  the  discrepancy.  Slavery  is 
the  mother  of  abominations.  It  is  not  for  the 
assailants  of  slavery  to  stay  their  hands  out  of  re- 
gard to  the  possible  virtue  of  many  slaveholders. 
It  is  for  the  virtuous  slaveholders  to  come  forth 
and  demonstrate  their  virtue.  I  will  not  say  that 
the  people  who  lock  pews  and  monopolize  preach- 
ing are  not  Christians.  Sanctification  is  a  grad- 
ual process,  and  a  man  may  be  sanctified  to  the 
degree  of  going  to  church  himself,  and  not  to  the 
degree  of  going  out  into  the  highways  and  alleys 
and  inviting  his  brother  to  come  to  church.  But 
a  general  view  cannot  take  in  individual  virtues, 
and  the  general  view  shows  the  great  majority 
without  a  church-home,  or  any  means  to  provide 
one,  and  the  small  minority  sitting  in  state  in  their 
splendid  waste-places ;  this  is  not  Christianity,  but 
thoughtlessness,  selfishness,  stupidity,  pride,  mak- 
ing a  great  gap  between  the  supply  and  demand 
of  the  bread  of  life ;  and  this  wickedness,  as  disas- 
trous in  its  reflex  as  in  its  direct  influence,  and  the 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  101 

people  who,  professing  to  be  guided  by  the  teach* 
ings  of  Christ,  cherish  or  permit  this  wickedness, 
cannot  fail  to  receive,  in  this  respect,  the  unquali- 
fied censure  of  those  who  believe  that  "  inasmuch 
as  ye  did  it  not  to  the  least  of  these,  my  brethren, 
ye  did  it  not  to  me." 

When  it  is  asked,  "  If  I  am  able  to  do  thus 
and  so,  if  I  am  able  to  hire  a  $  5,000  man  and  a 
$300  pew  to  hear  him  in,  have  I  not  a  perfect 
right  to  do  it, — just  as  much  as  I  have  a  right  to 
send  my  children  to  expensive  schools  beyond  my 
neighbor's  reach  ?  "  No,  I  answer  emphatically, 
you  have  no  such  riglit,  if  there  is  any  truth  in 
the  Bible,  —  if  a  Christ  ever  lived  and  died.  You 
have  a  right,  but  it  is  a  pagan  right,  a  legal  right, 
a  right  under  the  code  of  Justinian,  not  under  the 
code  of  Jesus.  Under  the  Law,  every  man  looketh 
to  the  things  of  his  own  ;  but  under  the  Gospel,  to 
the  things  of  his  neighbor.  There  needed  no  cru- 
cified Saviour  to  tell  us  that  we  might  secure  for 
ourselves  the  best  things  possible.  We  should  have 
known  that  without  the  cross.  But  Christ  died, 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  and  placed  us  forever  under 
the  most  solemn  bonds  to  love  our  neighbor  as 
ourselves.  Where  our  tastes  conflict  with  our 
neighbor's  life,  we  have  no  riglit  to  indulge  them. 
Unless  the  world  is  to  be  saved  by  some  other 
foolishness  than  that  of  preaching,  we  have  no 
right  to  keep  preaching  away  from  the  world.  If 
you  think  the  Gospel  is  not  necessary  to  men,  or 


102  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

if  you  think  church  services  are  not  the  best  way, 
or  not  a  good  way,  to  present  the  Gospel  to  men, 
that  is  another  question.  But  if  you  think  church 
services,  at  least  at  present,  are  pre-eminently  the 
"  means  of  grace,"  —  so  pre-eminently  that  those 
who  are  brought  to  Christ  from  beyond  the  limits  of 
church  influences  are  rare  and  remarkable  excep- 
tions, —  then  you  have  no  right  to  indulge  in  church 
luxuries  whose  effect  is  to  remove  from  your  broth- 
er church  necessities.  You  shall  not  spread  for 
yourself  a  feast  of  fat  things,  while  Christ's  little 
ones  all  around  you  are  famishing  for  bread. 

It  is  said  that  a  free-church  system  is  impracti- 
cable. What  does  impracticable  mean  ?  Every- 
thing is  impracticable  till  it  is  put  in  practice.  I 
am  told  that  there  are  already  several  churches 
conducted  on  this  plan.  A  slight  sketch  of  the 
origin  and  history  of  such  a  church  might  be  more 
useful  than  a  great  deal  of  theoretical  talk.  But 
the  success  or  failure  of  any  single  enterprise  of 
this  nature  does  not  settle  the  question,  any  more 
than  the  success  or  failure  of  any  one  attempt  at 
congregational  singing  settles  the  question  of  cho- 
ral or  congregational  music.  So  many  circum- 
stances come  in  to  complicate  matters,  that  one 
needs  laroje  induction. 

The  experiment  may  be  tried  in  bad  faith,  in  a 
manner  so  hasty,  injudicious,  and  half-and-half, 
that  no  good  result  shall  follow.  Begin  without 
harmony,  understanding,  sagacity,  confidence,  en- 


CHURCh-SiTTINGS.  103 

thuslasm,  or  tact,  and  of  course  it  will  fail.  Any- 
thing would  fail  under  such  circumstances.  Grasp 
it  so  that  you  can  have  purchase  before  a  failure 
shall  be  considered  final.  Let  people  be  interest- 
ed. Let  them  feel  the  matter  to  be  of  as  great 
importance  as  if  they  had  embarked  in  it  their 
whole  fortune.  Let  them  be  determined  to  suc- 
ceed. The  Hindoos  and  Siamese  are  not  made  to 
pay  "  minister's  tax,"  nor  pew-rent ;  and  if  it  is 
possible  to  send  a  free  Gospel  all  around  the  globe, 
shall  it  be  easily  considered  impossible  to  dispense 
it  to  the  heathen  and  the  half-Christianized  —  and 
these  two  classes  very  nearly  exhaust  the  popula- 
tion —  at  our  own  doors  ?  Let  the  children  of 
light  be  as  wise  in  their  generation  as  the  children 
of  this  world,  let  Christian  men  organize  as  saga- 
ciously for  Christ  as  politicians  organize  for  poli- 
tics, let  it  be  felt  to  be  as  essential  to  bring  people 
to  church  on  Sunday  as  it  is  to  bring  voters  to 
the  polls  on  election-day,  and  many  an  impracti- 
cability would  pass  into  an  accomplishment. 

To  give  money  to  build  a  church  in  a  pov- 
erty-stricken locality,  to  support  it  by  contribu- 
tions, and  occasional  attendance  from  neighboring 
churches,  and  make  it  a  kind  of  pet  charity,  may 
be  a  Christian  deed  ;  but  it  is  not  establishing,  and 
scarcely  is  it  trying,  the  free-church  system.  To 
retain  personal  possession  of  the  pews  in  a  church, 
and  all  the  appurtenances  of  church-ownership, 
while  saying  that  the  church  is  glad  to  have  all 


104  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

come  who  choose,  is  not  a  fair,  adequate,  and  hon- 
orable experiment  of  the  free-church  system  ;  and 
unless  the  experiment  is  fairly  tried,  it  is  not  tried 
at  all.  To  drag  along  after  an  idea,  is  not  t^  test 
its  practicability.  Gather  into  your  hand  all  the 
elements,  and  give  it  a  body  and  an  arena,  and 
then  it  may  prove  its  powers.  Let  there  be  dis- 
cussions, deliberations,  votes,  and  whatever  legal 
formalities  may  be  necessary  to  furnish  a  firm  foun- 
dation. If  a  church  is  to  be  formed,  or  one  al- 
ready existing  as  a  monopoly  is  to  be  thrown  open 
to  all,  let  it  be  done  intelligently.  Let  its  position 
be  first  clearly  seen,  and  then  clearly  shown,  its 
plans  and  purposes  laid  before  the  public,  and  all 

—  families,  individuals,  transient  visitors,  residents 

—  invited  to  form,  for  the  time,  one  church.  It  is 
true,  as  has  been  alleged,  that  this  would  bring  in 
a  great  number  who  would  not  be  the  poor  and 
devout,  but  mere  curiosity-seekers.  But  this,  so 
far  from  being  an  objection,  is  an  inducement. 
Nothing  innocent  is  an  objection  which  brings 
responsible  beings  into  a  church.  That  alone  is 
objectionable  which  keeps  them  out.  If  the  church 
is  what  it  ought  to  be,  it  will  ignore  a  man's  mo- 
tives in  coming.  No  matter  what  he  came  for, 
satisfied  that  it  has  him  there,  let  it  go  to  work 
and  improve  the  time.  Does  the  Spirit  of  God  act 
only  upon  those  who  decorously  pray  for  him  ?  Do 
regeneration  and  sanctification  come  only  to  those 
who  deliberately  seek  them  in  their  careless  days  ? 


CHURCH-SITTINGS.  105 

Paul  had  a  worse  motive  than  curiosity  in  going  to 
Damascus.  He  was  breathing  out  threatenings 
and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the  Lord,  but 
suddenly  there  shined  round  about  him  a  light 
from  Heaven.  The  motives  which  take  a  man  to 
tlie  house  of  God  lie  between  himself  and  his 
Malver.  The  only  facts  which  concern  us  are  by 
any  honorable  means  to  get  him  there,  and  then 
build  him  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord.  If  he  be  worldly,  indifferent,  attracted  only 
by  novelty  or  a  name,  drifting,  unprincipled,  so 
much  the  more  is  his  casual  presence  in  the  church 
to  be  desired.  If  he  will  not  go  from  principle, 
how  fortunate  that  he  will  go  from  whim  !  There, 
truth  has  him  at  an  advantage,  and  may  hope  to 
conquer  the  evil  spirit.  The  opportunity  may 
never  come  again,  but  this  once  you  have  drawn 
him  out  of  his  fortifications.  You  can  force  him 
to  do  battle  on  your  own  ground.  It  may  be  that, 
in  the  midst  of  his  carelessness  and  curiosity,  sud- 
denly a  light  from  Heaven  shall  shine  round  about 
him.  And  he  which  converteth  a  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  ways  —  whether  he  be  a  citizen  or  a 
stranger  —  saves  a  soul  from  death. 

Do  you  say  that  this  filling  of  churches  with  a 
flitting  audience  will  still  preclude  the  poor  from 
attendance  on  the  sanctuary  ?  Fly  swiftly  round, 
ye  wheels  of  time,  and  bring  the  happy  day  when 
there  are  not  churches  enough  for  the  people  who 
wish  to  worship  ! 


106  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

How  terrible  would  be  our  dally  walks,  if  our 
streets  were  filled  with  the 

"  Friendless  bodies  of  unburied  men  "  ! 

How   dreadful  to  o;o  on   our  errands    of  business 

CD 

or  pleasure,  if  at  every  step  we  were  forced  to 
touch,  witli  shuddering  feet,  the  lifeless  taberna- 
cles of  departed  souls,  —  stumbling  here  against  a 
prostrate  body,  turning  aside  to  avoid  another 
there,  looking  down  upon  them  lying  in  heaps 
under  our  parlor  windows,  and,  in  spite  of  every 
effort,  brought  continually  in  contact  with  crum- 
bling clay !  We  take  good  care  that  this  shall  not 
happen.  We  make  no  question  here  of  wealth 
or  poverty.  A  man  may  be  ever  so  poor,  but 
once  let  the  breath  leave  his  body,  and  he  is  im- 
mediately taken  care  of.  Once  ceasing  to  be  a 
man,  and  becoming  a  thing,  church  and  state 
both  come  in  ;  solemn  rites  are  said,  prayer  and 
psalm  and  funeral  hymn  are  not  wanting.  De- 
cently, reverently,  —  whether  the  past  has  known 
the  rags  of  a  pauper  or  the  purple  of  a  king,  — 
the  carbon  and  hydrogen  and  phosphorus  that  have 
been  honored  with  the  presence  of  a  soul  are  laid 
back  in  the  bosom  of  the  great  mother,  —  earth  to 
earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust. 

But  a  decaying  body  is  not  so  pernicious  as  a 
decaying  soul.  The  soul  that  has  lost  its  principle 
of  life,  not  only  passes  on  to  its  own  destruction, 
but  it  taints  whatever  it  touches.     The  souls  that 


CHURCH-SITTINGS,  107 

go  to  and  fro  in  the  market-places,  nnsanctified, 
unholy,  unloving,  thinking  of  no  beauty,  caring 
for  no  purity,  havmg  no  hope  and  without  God  in 
the  world,  —  are  not  only  eating  away  their  own 
life,  but  they  are  corroding  society.  An  evil  soul 
is  not  only  an  evil  substance,  but  an  evil  influ- 
ence. It  preys  upon  itself,  and  upon  all  around 
it.  It  is  a  missionary,  as  much  more  successful 
than  ordained  evangelists,  as  the  line  of  its  oper- 
ations lies  with,  and  not  against,  the  current.  It 
pollutes  the  earth,  and  vitiates  the  air.  It  is  at 
once  the  nucleus  and  stimulus  of  evil.  When  it 
shall  have  fled,  wailing,  from  the  body  which  it  has 
degraded,  you  will  bestir  yourself,  giving  to  the 
suffering  slave  an  attention  which  you  denied  to 
the  far  more  deeply  suff'ering  master.  But  why 
can  you  not  open  to  souls  your  church,  as  well  as 
to  bodies  your  churchyards  ?  You  will  have  your 
dead  buried  out  of  your  sight.  Be  equally  faithful 
to  have  the  sin-smitten  soul  buried  with  Christ  in 
baptism,  to  rise  with  him  in  newness  of  life. 

I  am  loath  to  leave  this  subject.  I  am  so  sure 
that  nothing  will  come  of  what  I  have  said.  The 
thing  which  has  been  is  that  which  shall  be.  One 
little  boat  cleaves  the  ocean-wave,  but  the  ocean 
closes  again,  and  there  is  no  change.  Yet  I  pray 
you  do  not  pass  carelessly  by.  If  what  I  have 
said  is  not  well  said,  do  you  say  it  better.  If  it 
is  not  truly  said,  utter  you  the  truth.  If  this  is 
not  a  good  way  to  bring  the  Gospel  to  the  poor. 


108  CHURCH-SITTINGS. 

show  a  good  way.  If  it  is  not  the  best,  show  a 
better.  It  is  not  a  matter  that  can  be  let  alone 
safely,  —  either  for  the  world  or  for  yourself.  We 
are  each  his  brother's  keeper,  and  we  shall  sure- 
ly be  inquired  of  one  day  concerning  the  trust. 
We  can  hardly  yet  render  a  satisfactory  account. 
What  I  see  is  church  edifices  half  filled,  church 
organizations  half  torpid,  and  cities  eager  and 
crowded ;  the  Gospel  not  reaching  the  tenth  part 
of  the  people,  and  the  people  every  one  of  them 
going  on  inexorably  into  life,  going  down  inevita- 
bly to  death.  What  I  want  to  see  is  every  church 
made  the  glowing  centre  of  all  moral,  intellectual, 
and  social  life  ;  a  city  of  refuge  for  all  who  are  in 
any  trouble  of  mind,  body,  or  estate  ;  a  city  of  re- 
joicing for  all  who  are  rich  and  increased  in  goods, 
and  have  need  of  nothing  ;  the  dread  and  rebuke 
of  unrepentant  evil-doers,  the  counsellor  and  com- 
forter of  repentant ;  the  dispenser  of  solace,  the 
promoter  of  joy,  the  home  of  the  homeless,  the 
friend  of  the  friendless ;  warm  in  love,  wise  in 
action,  quick  in  sympathy,  sagacious  in  council ; 
the  house  of  God,  the  very  gate  of  heaven.  To 
bring  about  this  most  Christian  end,  I  know  no 
better  means  than  that  thou  shouldst  keep  the  feast 
unto  the  Lord  thy  God  with  a  tribute  of  a  free-will 
offering  of  thine  hand,  which  thou  shalt  give  unto 
the  Lord  thy  God,  according  as  the  Lord  thy  God 
hath  blessed  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  rejoice  before  the 
Lord  thy  God,  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter, 


CHURCH-SITTINGS. 


109 


and  thy  man-servant,  and  thy  maid-servant,  and 
the  Levite  that  is  within  thy  gates,  and  the  stranger, 
and  the  fatherless,  and  the  widow  that  are  among 
you,  in  the  place  which  the  Lord  thy  God  hath 
chosen  to  place  his  name  there. 


A  VIEW   FROM    THE    PEWS. 


l^^^j^HEN  a  new  thing  is  to  be  introduced 
to  the  pubhc,  machinery  must  be  used. 

i>\^,  \fj|  A  missionary,  going  to  preach  Christ 
*^f5^1^  among  a  people  that  never  heard  of 
him,  must  probably  have  recourse  to  measures 
which  he  would  not  need  to  employ  with  a  nomi- 
nally Christian  people.  The  latter  know  all  that 
it  is  necessary  to  know  about  Christianity.  What 
they  need  is  to  learn  Christianity  itself.  They 
are  to  be  led  to  church  and  to  religion  by  the  true 
service  of  the  one  and  the  inherent  excellence  of 
the  other.  There  is  very  little  use  in  exhorting 
them  to  go  to  church,  and  there  is  no  use  at  all 
in  upbraiding  them  after  they  get  there  for  not 
going.  The  first  is  like  repairing  a  deranged 
clock  by  setting  the  pendulum  a-going  with  your 
finger.  It  makes  a  few  oscillations  and  stops,  for 
the  trouble  lies  above  among  the  wheels.  By 
outside  influences  you  may  induce  a  feeble  swing 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  Ill 

between  house  and  cliurcli,  but  you  will  never 
make  a  vigorous  vibration  till  you  go  in  among 
the  cords  and  cogs  and  put  the  vital  mechanism 
in  order.  Nor  is  clerical  remonstrance  any  more 
effective  tJian  lay  effort.  It  is  not  objectionable 
on  the  ground  of  lawfulness,  but  of  expediency. 
I  have  not  an  overweening  admiration  of  that 
bland  serenity  which  never  speaks  a  severe  word. 
As  a  freak  of  nature  it  is  curious  and  pleasant  to 
contemplate,  especially  where  circumstances  are 
so  arranged  that  there  is  no  call  for  severity  ;  but 
as  things  usually  are,  a  good  plain  rebuke,  rare 
but  thorough,  not  fringing  off  into  sullenness  and 
pouting,  but  sharp  at  the  edges  and  solid  in  the 
middle  and  well  set  in  sunshine,  clears  the  air 
and  accomplishes  purposes  ;  yet  in  the  pulpit  it 
does  not  accomplish  the  purpose  desired,  because 
the  people  who  feel  it  are  the  people  who  do  not 
deserve  it,  and  because  it  has  not  generally  a  good 
basis.  It  is  not  surprising  if  ministers  often  feel 
moved  to  administer  it,  nor  that  they  often  do 
administer  it.  But  it  will  not  effect  much,  for 
it  is  not  striking  at  the  root  of  the  matter.  Lions, 
it  is  well  known,  do  not  write  history,  and  conse- 
quently do  not  make  any  great  figure  in  history. 
In  our  ecclesiastical  dramas  the  congregations 
play  the  part  of  the  lions,  and  the  clergy  are  the 
historians.  The  minister  has  "  centralization," 
the  habit  of  writing  and  speaking,  and  the  pulpit. 
The  congregation  is  heterogeneous,  unorganized, 


112  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

unaccustomed  to  making  periods.  The  minister 
has  presented  his  story  very  fully,  and  no  doubt 
very  truly  ;  but  we  have  seldom,  if  ever,  been 
called  to  look  at  the  truth  from  the  "  congregation 
side."  But  why  should  a  minister  think  himself 
justified  in  complaining  of  his  small  audience,  any 
more  than  a  lawyer  of  his  few  clients,  or  a  physi- 
cian of  his  few  patients,  or  a  shop-keeper  of  his 
few  patrons  ?  There  may  be  especial  obstacles  in 
especial  cases,  but,  as  a  general  thing,  if  a  doctor 
is  skilful,  people  find  it  out,  and  employ  him.  If 
the  grocer  has  good  coffee  and  spices,  he  will  have 
good  customers.  But  if  the  minister  fails  of  hear- 
ers, it  is  because  people  are  cold  and  dead.  Per- 
haps so,  but  is  it  not  his  own  hand  that  killed 
them  ?  Men  want  spiritual  food  much  more  than 
they  want  sugar  and  coffee  ;  and  if  a  minister  can 
discover  and  provide  the  thing  which  they  need, 
why  must  we  suppose  that  they  would  not  follow 
natural  laws  and  apply  to  him  ?  Why  are  people 
in  the  one  case  simply  acting  after  their  kind,  and 
in  the  other  case  giving  themselves  over  to  the 
god  of  this  world  ?  Because  the  doctor  and  the 
lawyer  have  to  do  with  this  world's  interests, 
while  the  minister  treats  only  of  spiritual  things. 
But  spiritual  things  belong  to  the  world  as  much 
as  physical  things,  nay,  more.  GodHness  is  as 
profitable  for  the  life  that  now  is,  as  for  that  which 
is  to  come.  Ministers  often  plant  themselves  on 
the  fact  that  they  preach  the  Gospel,  as  if  that 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  113 

were  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter.  Au- 
diences may  be  small,  faith  feeble,  thermometers 
low,  but  they  preach  the  Gospel  whether  men 
will  hear  or  forbear.  But  it  is  not  the  Gospel 
that  men  go  to  church  to  get.  They  have  at 
home  as  much  Gospel  as  there  is.  What  they 
need  in  church  is  to  have  the  Gospel  explained, 
applied,  enforced.  The  Gospel  may  be  in  a  way 
preached  without  any  real  explanation,  applica- 
tion, or  impression.  The  mere  fact  that  a  man 
preaches  the  Gospel,  is  not  conclusive  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  work  which  he  is  doino;.  Men 
ought  to  be  aroused,  stimulated,  impelled.  Their 
attention  must  be  commanded,  if  not  by  duties, 
then  by  devices.  But  this  is  "  sensation"  preach- 
ing. Well,  all  preaching  is  sensation  preaching. 
You  cannot  sit  still  and  hear  a  man  talk  for 
half  an  hour  or  an  hour  without  some  kind  of  a 
sensation.  The  only  question  is  as  to  what  kind. 
Shall  it  be  a  sensation  of  interest,  or  indifference  ? 
Of  resolution,  or  weariness  ?  Of  repentance,  or 
disgust  ?  There  is  much  unnecessary  alarm  in 
this  respect,  —  unnecessary,  if  one  looks  at  it  from 
the  pewsy  however  it  may  seem  from  the  pulpit. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Congregationalist,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war,  was  troubled  because  a 
daily  journal  advertised  a  series  of  sermons  on  the 
Military  Heroes  of  the  Bible,  to  be  concluded  by 
one  on  "  Jesus,  the  Captain  of  our  Salvation."  I 
must  confess  I  cannot  see  the  smallest  objection, 


114  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

either  to  preaching  the  sermons,  or  announcing 
that  you  are  going  to  do  so.  I  should  think  that 
very  apt  and  excellent  discourses  might  be  written 
on  that  theme.  There  are  military  heroes  in  the 
Bible,  —  witness  Abraham,  Joshua,  David,  —  and 
there  are  valuable  lessons  for  us  in  their  career 
and  character.  At  that  juncture  of  affairs,  the 
lessons  afforded  by  the  military  portion  of  their 
lives  were  peculiarly  apposite.  We  have  Scrip- 
tural authority  for  calling  Christ  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  and  the  term  has  now  for  us  a 
stronger  meaning  than  ever  before.  All  military 
character  and  experience  are  invested  with  new 
interest.  Why  not,  then,  strike  while  the  iron  is 
hot  ?  I  should  think  it  was  just  the  thing  to  do. 
If  ministers  find  that  they  can  induce  people  to 
come  to  church  by  adopting  some  such  "  cry," 
they  are  surely  justified  in  doing  it.  Would  they 
be  justified  in  not  doing  it  ?  True,  the  intelligent, 
devout  Christian  may  not  need  any  such  stimu- 
lant, and,  if  he  have  a  cultivated  mind  and  delicate 
taste,  may  rather  dislike  it.  But  the  intelligent, 
devout  Christian  is  not  to  be  taken  into  the  ac- 
count here,  because  he  knows  the  way  to  the 
Saviour,  He  is  in  the  right  road,  and  may  be  left 
to  himself.  Christ  came  not  to  call  the  righteous, 
but  sinners,  to  repentance.  It  is  the  worldly,  the 
careless,  the  frivolous,  the  reckless,  who  need  to 
be  lured  to  God  ;  and  if  their  weakness  and  wick- 
edness can  be  touched  by  catch-words,  let  us  use 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  115 

them.  Paul  was  a  thoroughly  orthodox  and  a  tol- 
erably able  and  successful  preacher,  and  he  tells 
us  his  manner  of  working  :  "  Unto  the  Jews  I 
became  as  a  Jew,  that  I  might  gain  the  Jews  ;  to 
them  that  are  under  the  law,  as  under  the  law, 
that  I  might  gain  them  that  are  under  the  law  ; 
to  them  that  are  without  law,  as  without  law,  that 
I  mio'ht  gain  them  that  are  without  law.  To  the 
zceak  became  I  as  weaJc^  that  I  might  gain  the  weak; 
1  am  7nade  all  things  to  all  men^  that  I  might  by  all 
means  save  some^  "  Even  as  I  please  all  men 
in  all  things.  "  If  the  services  of  the  sanctuary 
are  helps  to  heaven,  if  men  are  more  likely  to  be 
led  to  Christ  by  going  to  church  than  by  staying 
away,  we  can  hardly  be  too  eager  to  gather  them 
in  ;  and  to  seize  our  military  fever  at  its  height, 
and  make  it  an  instrument  of  moral  improvement, 
was  a  clever  stratagem,  a  tripping  of  Satan  in  his 
own  net,  which  should  call  forth  admiration  rather 
than  censure.  And  if  it  is  right  to  do  it,  it  is  right 
to  say  you  are  going  to  do  it,  and  to  say  it  in 
the  most  public  manner.  It  would  be  very  de- 
lightful if  everybody  belonged  to  some  church, 
and  walked  in  all  its  ordinances  blameless.  We 
should  then  need  only  the  notice  from  the  pulpit, 
and  each  man  would  wend  his  orderly  way  to  his 
own  church  ;  but  while  there  are  so  many  who 
flit  from  place  to  place,  perhaps  to  church,  per- 
haps to  concert,  possibly  to  club,  we  will  not  only 
make  them  a  feast  of  fat  thino-s  in   our  church- 


116  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

es,  but  we  will  go  out  into  the  highways  and 
hedges  with  our  invitations,  and  compel  them  to 
come  in,  that  the  house  may  be  full.  When  every 
man  has  his  own  plot  of  ground  in  Zion,  and  can 
sit  under  his  own  vine  and  fig-tree,  we  will  all 
stay  at  home  and  cultivate  our  own  farms  with 
gladness  and  singleness  of  heart ;  but  while  the 
sad  earth  spreads  out  her  waste  places,  blessed  are 
ye  that  sow  beside  all  waters. 

It  is  objected,  that  all  this  savors  of  the  theatre, 
and  conceals  the  pure  word  of  God  with  a  mere- 
tricious glow.  But  it  is  ricrht  to  learn  even  of  an 
enemy.  You  may  go  to  a  theatre  night  after 
night,  and  find  it  filled  with  attentive  crowds  ; 
while  in  the  same  city  the  churches  yawn  with 
empty  pews.  May  not  the  secret  of  this  large 
audience  and  this  rapt  attention  be  seized  by  the 
children  of  light  ?  Is  there  not  something  in 
the  mastery  which  the  actor  obtains  over  the 
assembly  —  something  apart  from  the  nature  of 
the  entertainment  —  of  which  the  minister  may 
legitimately  possess  himself,  and  which,  if  he  be 
wise  in  his  generation,  he  may  use  with  more  than 
an  actor's  power  ?  A  clergyman  of  eminent  parts 
and  position  went  once  into  a  newsboy's  theatre 
for  the  express  purpose  of  seeing  "  how  it  was 
done " ;  and,  said  he,  "  I  learned  more  about 
preaching  there  than  I  ever  did  at  a  meeting.  I 
was  a  good  deal  more  insighted  into  human  nature 
when  I  came  out  than  when  I  went  in."     So  far 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  117 

as  a  theatre  understands  and  ap2:)lies  natural  laws, 
let  our  churches  Tdc  theatrical. 

Yet,  "What  are  we  coming  to?"  ask  good 
men  despondingly,  in  view  of  such  innovations. 
Would  that  one  could  reassure  them  by  answering, 
"  Nothing  in  particular."  From  a  laj  point  of 
view,  it  seems  impossible  to  believe  that  the  mis- 
chief which  lies  in  this  direction  is  worthy  to  be 
compared  to  the  mischief  which  lies  in  the  oppo- 
site direction.  The  prejudice  against  "  sensation 
preachers  "  appears  much  more  unreasonable  than 
any  success  which  they  may  have  attained.  Let 
the  "  Reverend  Graphic  "  alone.  He  is  doing  a 
good  w^ork.  He  that  is  not  against  us  is  on  our 
part.  The  point  is  to  cast  out  devils.  If  he  suc- 
ceeds in  that,  let  us  not  forbid  him,  though  he 
followeth  not  us.  There  is  no  man  that  can  cast 
out  devils  in  Christ's  name  that  can  lightly  speak 
evil  of  him.  Is  this  a  begging  of  the  question  ? 
But  can  it  be  proved  that  the  Reverend  Graphic 
really  accomplishes  less  good  than  the  Reverend 
Prosy  ?  May  be  he  cannot  cast  out  your  partic- 
ular devil ;  may  be  not  mine  ;  but  their  name  is 
Legion,  and  it  shall  go  hard  but  some  wdll  get  a 
wound.  What  seems  rhodomontade  in  a  quiet 
•country  village,  may  seem  chaste  and  correct 
discourse  in  a  fast  and  furious  city.  What  seems 
rough  to  the  cultivated  hearer,  may  be  but  natu- 
ral to  the  uncultivated.  What  would  be  startling 
and  incongruous  to  you,  might  only  tempt  the 


118  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

palled  appetite  of  another.  If  an  angel  from 
heaven  preach  any  other  than  Ihe  true  Gospel, 
let  him  be  accursed ;  but  if  he  preach  the  true 
Gospel,  let  him  have  free  course,  whether  he 
preach  it  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying, 
or  with  the  still,  small  voice.  Let  all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
with  elegance  ;  but  there  are,  it  may  be,  so  many 
kinds  of  voices  in  the  world,  and  none  of  them  is 
without  signification.  If  a  little  engineering,  a  lit- 
tle stir,  a  little  show,  a  little  craft  (of  the  Pauline 
kind),  a  little  melodramatism,  can  draw  men  to  the 
courts  of  the  Lord,  let  no  one  shrink  from  the  sac- 
rifice of  his  own  tastes,  if  by  any  means  —  hy  any 
means  —  he  may  save  some.  What  said  Paul  ? 
Some  m  his  day  preached  Christ  even  of  envy  and 
strife,  to  say  nothing  of  "  sensation  "  and  vain- 
glory ;  some  of  contention,  not  sincerely,  supposing 
to  add  affliction  to  his  bonds.  What  then  ?  Not- 
withstanding, every  way,  whether  in  pretence  or 
in  truth,  Christ  was  preached;  "And  I  therein 
do  rejoice,"  cried  the  glorious,  great-hearted  man, 
"yea,  and  will  rejoice." 

The  fear  of  anything  unusual,  or  not  conformed 
to  the  canons  of  correct  taste,  sometimes  goes  so 
far  that  one  might  almost  think  an  attractive 
pulpit  were  presumptive  evidence  of  an  heretical 
pulpit.  To  enliven  and  adorn  it  is  to  depreciate 
it.  Men  admire,  in  a  minister,  agreeable  manners, 
a  cultivated  voice,  apt  and  elegant  language,  rich 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  119 

and  forcible  illustration,  and  are  immediately  re- 
minded of  "  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and 
can  play  well  on  an  instrument."  How  many 
and  many  times  have  I  heard  that  quoted  by 
clergy  and  laity,  and  almost  invariably  misquoted. 
One  would  suppose,  from  its  application,  that 
God's  people  in  old  time  turned  away  from  the 
true  prophet,  who  spoke  somewhat  roughly,  to 
listen  to  the  false  prophet  with  the  pleasant  voice 
and  the  skilful  hand.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  the 
true  prophet  who  spoke  sweetly.  The  Lord  said 
unto  Ezekiel,  "  Thou  art  unto  them  as  a  very 
lovely  song  of  one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and 
can  play  well  on  an  insti-ument."  Instead  of 
making  against  these  accomplishments,  it  makes 
strongly  in  their  favor.  The  man  whom  the  Lord 
made  a  watchman  unto  the  house  of  Israel  went 
out  on  his  errand,  not  only  fired  with  the  zeal  of 
the  prophet,  but  clothed  with  the  graces  of  the 
orator.  He  ate  the  roU  as  he  was  commanded, 
but  it  was  in  his  mouth  as  honey  for  sweetness. 
True,  neither  the  roll  nor  the  honey  turned  a 
rebelKous  people  from  the  error  of  its  ways.  Men 
heard  the  lovely  song  and  the  pleasant  voice,  but 
gave  no  heed  to  its  teachings.  Yet  a  prophet  was 
among  them,  as  they  presently  came  to  know.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  in  our  days,  any  more 
than  in  Ezekiel's,  a  pastor's  skill  or  culture  can 
redeem  his  people.  Even  though  a  Paul  plant, 
even  though  an  ApoUos  water,   God  must  give 


120  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

the  increase.  But  if  Paul  understands  tlie  chem- 
istry of  soils,  and  the  nature  of  seeds,  if  lie  draws 
a  straight  furrow  and  liolds  a  steady  hand,  if  he  ob- 
serves times  and  seasons,  making  hay  while  the  sun 
shines,  and  mendmg  tools  on  rainy  days,  his  fields 
will  be  much  more  likely  to  yield  increase,  and 
will  be  far  finer  to  look  at  when  they  have  in- 
creased, than  if  he  contents  Inmself  with  scatter- 
ing seed,  hit  or  miss,  and  pays  no  regard  to  con- 
ditions. 

Again,  people  who  are  in  search  of  a  minister 
recount  their  list  of  requisites,  and  are  met  by  the 
sarcastic  advice  to  repair  to  heaven  for  their  prod- 
igy, or  by  a  disquisition  on  the  unreasonableness 
of  people  who  expect  all  the  gifts  and  graces  for 
eight  hundi'ed  dollars  a  year.  But  the  people  are 
not  always  so  unreasonable  as  is  supposed.  They 
sometimes  make  great  demands,  because  they  do 
not  understand  what  it  is  that  they  want.  Girls 
talk  in  heroic  verse  of  the  virtues  which  their 
suitors  must  possess ;  but  by  and  by  they  marry 
men  who  are  not  taller  by  the  breadth  of  my  nail 
than  any  of  their  contemporaries,  and  live  happy 
ever  after.  They  have  precisely  the  strength  and 
support  and  companionship  which  they  need,  and 
never  discover  that  the  superlative  qualities  which 
they  demanded  exist  in  the  positive  degree,  or 
discover  it  only  to  make  merry  over  their  own 
girlish  folly.  They  are  not  troubled,  because  they 
are  suited,  and  that  is  better  than  ideal  Bayards. 


A    VIEW  FROM   THE  PEWS  121 

Just  so  people  tallc  of  clerical  perfections  ;  they 
know  that  they  want  something  which  they  have 
not,  and  they  get  at  it  as  near  as  they  can.  But  let 
a  man  go  among  them,  never  heeding  their  fine 
words,  but  with  skill  to  discern  their  real  needs 
and  power  to  supply  them,  and  their  phantom  of 
perfection  quickly  fades  away  before  the  face  of  the 
mere  man,  who  breaks  for  them,  not  in  word  only 
but  in  truth,  the  bread  of  life.  He  who  gives  them 
what  they  need  may  dispense  with  many  of  the 
things  they  talk  about.  A  very  warm  friend  and 
parishioner  of  one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  in 
the  country,  admitted  that  he  scarcely  ever  heard 
a  sermon  from  his  pastor  in  which  there  was  not 
something  to  offend  the  taste.  But  the  fire  of  his 
nature  consumed  all  minor  defects.  His  people 
passed  over  all  the  dross,  and  treasured  the  fine 
gold.  Arbutlmot  was  a  man  of  pleasing  manners 
and  agreeable  exterior.  Abernethy  was,  in  popular 
parlance,  "a  bear";  but  the  "lovely  song"  of  the 
one  did  not  turn  his  science  and  skill  into  dilettan- 
teism,  nor  did  the  gruff  rudeness  of  the  other  give 
him  in  his  anterooms  one  crowd  the  less.  It  is 
not  true  that  people  are  more  unreasonable  re- 
garding their  minister  than  they  are  regarding 
other  classes  of  servants.  They  do  not  expect 
the  village  doctor  to  manage  the  complicated  and 
difficult  cases  ;  but  they  do  expect  him  to  take 
their  children  comfortably  through  the  mumps  and 
measles.     They  do  not  go  to  the  "  Cheap  Cash 


122  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

Store "  for  silks  and  broadcloth,  but  they  expect 
to  find  there  good  sheeting  at  a  fair  price.  They 
do  not  complain  if  their  lawyer  is  not  paid  three 
thousand  dollars  as  a  retaining  fee,  but  they  will 
not  long  employ  him  if  there  are  flaws  in  his  title- 
deeds.  In  point  of  fact,  people  bear  deficiencies 
in  their  pastor  with  far  more  patience  than  in  any 
other  case  that  I  recollect,  except,  perhaps,  that 
of  teachers.  It  is  partly  because  they  do  not 
know  any  better.  They  do  not  know  what  a  good 
minister  or  a  good  teacher  is,  and  might  do,  and 
they  plod  on  ;  but  of  the  fact,  I  thmk  there  can 
be  no  question.  A  doctor  and  a  lawyer  are  much 
more  dependent  on  their  professional  skill  than  the 
minister.  People  do  not  apply  to  the  former  on 
the  strength  of  their  being  excellent  men,  genial, 
benevolent,  kind-hearted;  but  the  latter  is  re- 
tained, respected,  and  defended  against  outside 
detractors,  on  that  very  plea. 

Attractiveness  is  not  the  prerogative  of  deprav- 
ity. The  beauty  of  holiness  is  winsome.  Very 
few  have  so  distorted  their  nature  by  sin  as  not 
to  be  able  to  see  the  loveliness  of  religion.  Also, 
the  word  of  God  is  positive,  aggressive,  radical. 
A  minister,  then,  has  to  present  that  which  is 
beautiful  to  a  race  which,  however  degraded,  has 
still  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful,  and  that 
which  is  calculated  to  arouse  thought,  to  a  race 
capable  of  thinking.  Besides  this,  the  minister 
has  other  advantages.     He  holds  the  key  of  all 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  123 

hearts  in  his  hand.  His  position  allows  him,  with- 
out the  faintest  suggestion  of  impertinence,  to 
inquire  into  the  secret  hopes,  fears,  and  feelings 
of  his  people.  If  he  does  this  with  tenderness 
and  tact,  he  will  not  only  not  be  repulsed,  but  his 
face  will  seem  to  them,  as  it  w^ere,  the  face  of  an 
angel.  He  will  bind  them  to  himself  by  everlast- 
ing cords.  In  every  family  circle  he  will  be  the 
honored  and  thrice  welcome  visitor,  the  sharer  of 
intimate  interests,  a  revered,  a  confidential,  I  had 
almost  said,  a  sacred  friend.  The  opportunity  is 
before  him.  Nothing  lacks  but  himself.  If  he 
have  but  the  innate  wisdom,  he  may  fling  repub- 
Hcanism  to  the  winds,  and  become  such  an  auto- 
crat as  never  Eastern  despot  dreamed  of  being. 
Moreover,  he  has  his  pulpit.  His  people  have 
voluntarily  made  him  their  leader.  They  have 
put  themselves  in  the  attitude  of  learners,  listen- 
ers, followers.  The  iron  is  ready  before  him ; 
there  needs  but  the  arm  to  smite,  strong  and  sure. 
In  country  villages  he  has  still  other  advantages. 
The  people  have  few,  if  any,  concerts,  lectures, 
addresses,  wherewithal  to  amuse  themselves. 
Books  and  pictures  are  scarce,  and  time  to  con- 
sult them,  limited.  The  minister,  therefore,  rep- 
resents other  departments  as  well  as  his  own.  He 
is  not  only  Paul,  but  Cicero  and  Socrates.  He 
is  religion,  and  also  literature  and  the  fine  arts. 
His  people  look  to  him  for  guidance  in  most  things 
that  do  not  pertain  to  their  own  employments. 


124  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

What  right,  then,  has  a  sermon  to  be  dull,  or  a 
mmister  to  lose  his  audience  ?  If,  with  all  his 
advantages,  he  does  not  command  his  people, 
whose  fault  is  it  ?  He  may,  indeed,  require  time. 
It  may  take  months,  perhaps  years,  for  his  har- 
vest to  ripen  ;  but  if,  wdien  sun  and  shower 
have  done  their  work,  the  seed  still  remains  in 
the  ground  and  there  is  no  fruit,  it  is  possibly  not 
wholly  the  fault  of  the  ground,  but  of  the  farmer 
who  did  not  till  it  aright. 

I  think  it  is  as  much  a  minister's  duty  to  make 
sermons  interesting  as  it  is  to  make  sermons.  A 
sermon  that  does  not  interest  an  audience  is  noth- 
ing to  them.  I  do  not  say  that  it  must  please 
them,  but  it  must  fix  them.  If  a  man  cannot  do 
that,  then,  so  far  as  preaching  is  essential,  he 
ought  not  to  be  a  minister.  The  truths  with 
which  he  has  to  deal  are  the  most  important  in 
the  world,  and,  if  he  cannot  present  them  forcibly 
enough  to  secure  attention,  he  should  make  way 
for  some  one  who  can.  I  am  not  advocating  ex- 
travagance either  of  word  or  gesture.  Fury  and 
pounding  and  shouting  and  starting  may  startle, 
but  they  excite  mere  animal  attention.  You  can 
stop  a  canary-bird's  song  by  hallooing  at  him. 
One  of  the  ablest  ministers  I  know  —  a  man 
whose  church  is  filled  every  Sunday  —  is  a  quiet 
man.  His  voice  seems  not  to  be  raised  above  the 
tones  of  common  conversation.  He  stands  in 
his    pulpit  a  gentleman,   dignified,  affable,  cour- 


A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  125 

teous.  Sometimes  his  words  are  roses,  and  some- 
times they  are  cannon-balls.  If  roses,  they  have 
the  fragrance  of  June  ;  if  cannon-balls,  they  speed 
straight  to  the  mark.  In  both  cases  the  charac- 
teristic of  the  attention  he  secures  is  not  so  much 
excitement  as  fixedness  :  if  this  attention  depends 
at  all  upon  his  manner,  it  is  manner  so  impalpable 
that  you  see  nothing  but  the  man  and  the  matter 
in  their  apparently  spontaneous  expression. 

I  hardly  know  how  to  say  what  I  wish  to  say 
in  words  that  shall,  on  the  one  hand,  do  justice  to 
the  unquestionable  importance  of  the  subject,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  not  do  injustice  to  the  real 
excellence  against  which  no  word  should  be 
spoken.  It  is  at  the  best  an  ungracious  task  to 
speak  of  fault  or  flaw,  and  the  greater  the  excel- 
lence in  which  the  .flaw  is  found,  the  more  unwel- 
come the  duty  of  pointing  it  out.  But  I  am  the 
more  emboldened  to  speak,  because  I  am  confi- 
dent that,  as  the  people  often  do  wrong  ignorantly, 
because  they  have  never  been  warned  by  their 
pastor,  so  the  pastor  often  fails  to  reach  the  people 
from  the  sheer  ignorance  of  the  road.  Confident 
also  that  the  dearest  wish  of  the  pastor  is  to  save 
his  people  from  their  sins,  I  feel  sure  that  many 
will  gladly  listen  to  statements  which,  whatever 
may  be  their  intrinsic  worth,  have  at  least  the 
value  of  being  honest  testimony. 

My  testimony  is  this  :  so  far.  as  the  real  exigen- 
cies of  life  are  concerned,  so  far  as  people  get  any 


126  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

help  for  the  week-days  from  Sunday's  sermon,  a 
man  might  just  as  well  have  gone  up  into  the  pul- 
pit and  talked  in  the  Old  Frisic  through  the  half- 
hour,  as  to  have  preached  nine  out  of  ten  of  all  the 
sermons  that  I  ever  heard.  They  may  be  excel- 
lent theological  essays,  but  they  are  slender  helps 
to  right  living.  In  truth,  I  do  not  see  how  it  is  pos- 
sible for  men  who  are  alive  and  in  the  world,  and 
see  men  and  women  all  around  them  full  of  faults, 
full  of  virtues,  full  of  weaknesses  and  meannesses 
and  capacities  and  peculiarities,  and  then  have 
a  chance  to  speak,  and  not  say  anything  about 
it  all.  How  can  a  living  man  have  free  course 
for  half  an  hour,  and  not  come  in  contact  with  any 
one  either  to  help  or  to  hurt  ?  How  can  a  man 
fire  into  a  crowd  for  half  an  hour,  and  hit  nobody  ? 
It  must  be  that  the  minister  does  not  stand  on  the 
same  plane  with  his  people.  They  are  congre- 
gated on  the  earth.  He  is  groping  or  charging 
among  the  clouds.  Like  the  soldiers  at  Bunker 
Hill,  he  fires  over  their  heads,  and,  like  their  offi- 
cer, one  feels  moved  to  cry  out,  "  Shin  'em,  boys, 
shin  'em  !  "  The  people  are  groaning  and  trav- 
ailing in  pain,  they  are  bewildered  in  the  laby- 
rinths of  life,  they  are  overwhelmed  in  the  tide  of 
worldliness  and  ignorance  and  selfishness  and  pas- 
sion, and  their  minister  comes  to  them  with  his 
emasculated  abstractions.  The  people  crave 
bread,  and  they  get  —  theology.  But  scorn  the- 
ology, the  science  of  sciences,  the  central  truth  ? 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  127 

Nay^  verily.  Absorb  in  your  seminaries  as  much 
science  as  you  can,  but  do  not  transmit  it  to  us 
raw  science.  Assimilate  and  transmute  it  into 
the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  we  may  grow 
thereby.  What  we,  the  people  want,  is  not  the- 
ology theological,  but  theology  vital.  We  do  not 
care  for  oxygen  and  nitrogen  ;  we  want  air. 

Preach  doctrinal  sermons,  not  skeletons,  but 
living  organisms,  clothed  with  nerve  and  sinew 
and  muscle.  Preach  practical  sermons,  but  let 
them  smell  of  the  soil.  There  is  no  gulf  between 
the  two.  Doctrine  and  practice  are  not  two 
things,  but  two  parts  of  the  same  thing,  —  root 
and  fruit  of  one  tree.  There  is  no  doctrine  that 
has  not  man's  welfare  for  its  end  ;  there  is  no 
practice  that  bears  on  any  other  object.  Juice 
will  not  be  found  in  the  doctrinal  sermons  of  him 
whose  practical  sermons  are  sapless.  How  did 
Christ  preach  the  Gospel  ?  He  forbade  family 
quarrels.  He  warned  his  hearers  against  the  evil 
practices  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees.  He  bade 
no  one  dare  to  come  up  to  the  temple  to  worship 
until  he  had  paid  his  just  debts.  He  not  only 
enjoined  upon  them  not  to  commit  adultery,  but 
told  them  what  the  first  step  in  adultery  was,  that 
they  might  shun  it.  He  talked  to  them  about 
their  families,  and  their  lawsuits,  and  their  habit 
of  borrowing.  He  told  them  how  they  should 
accost  people  in  the  street ;  what  they  should  give 
away  and  how  they  should  give  it ;    how   they 


128  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

should  pray  and  how  they  should  keep  fast-day. 
He  told  them  just  how  religion  bore  upon  their 
business  and  their  associations.  He  bade  them 
not  to  backbite  or  slander.  He  warned  them 
against  preachers  who  came  preaching  false  doc- 
trine. Common  things  he  discussed  in  common 
language,  enlivening  his  discourse  with  pungent 
questioning,  illustrating  it  by  numerous  stories, 
and  garnishing  it  with  vivid  and  beautiful  pictures 
drawn  from  the  summer  fields  and  humble  homes 
around  liim.  Through  it  all  rang  the  tender  un- 
dertone of  love,  — pity  for  the  suffering,  strength 
for  the  weak,  trust  and  comfort  for  the  poor. 
O,  no  wonder  the  people  were  astonished  at  his 
doctrines,  and  that  when  he  came  down  from  the 
mountain  great  multitudes  followed  him  !  A  writ- 
er in  the  Congregationalist  says  that  a  clergyman 
once  preached  on  the  text,  "  Thou  shalt  not 
steal,"  and  on  Monday  morning  the  streets  were 
fiill  of  people  carrying  home  books  and  tools 
which  they  had  borrowed.  As  soon  as  they  were 
told  what  to  do,  they  did  it.  But  so  rare  is  it  to 
hear  a  sermon  that  gives  one  any  definite  thing  to 
do,  or  points  out  any  special  fault  to  correct,  that  an 
audience  sometimes  looks  with  something  like  sus- 
picion on  such  a  sermon  when  it  does  come.  They 
do  not  exactly  know  what  to  make  of  it.  They 
are  not  quite  sure  it  is  religion  at  all,  but  rather 
think  it  is  morality;  and,  as  Unitarians  are  sup- 
posed to  be  given   over  to  morality,  the  minister 


A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  120 

needs  to  have  years  and  experience,  or  his  creed 
may  be  called  in  question.  Ministers  have  so 
narrowed  the  prerogatives  of  the  Gospel  that  the 
people  do  not  know  how  broad  is  its  domain.  The 
pastor  is  the  educator  of  his  people.  Not  only  their 
religion,  but  their  morals,  their  manners,  their 
habits,  their  politics,  are  his  province.  Whatever 
may  be  the  impression  to  the  contrary,  they  will 
not  be  restive  under  his  rule  if  he  but  hold  the 
sceptre  wisely.  If  he  but  have  moral  strength,  he 
will  surely  have  moral  force.  Trouble  is  the  re- 
sult of  undue  assumption.  Position  will  not  give 
him  force,  but  it  will  do  much  to  utilize  it.  Sug- 
gestions and  inculcations  that  would  be  resented 
from  a  layman  are  received  respectfully  from  a 
clergyman.  What  would  be  meddlesome  inter- 
ference in  the  former,  is  duty  in  the  latter ;  and  if 
the  duty  be  deftly  done,  people  will  recognize  it. 
If  a  man  takes  hold  of  his  work  by  the  blade  in- 
stead of  by  the  handle,  he  must  expect  to  cut  his 
fingers,  and  if  he  was  born  blind  and  cannot  tell 
which  is  which,  he  ought  not  to  choose  an  occupa- 
tion that  requires  edge-tools. 

I  know  a  man  who,  in  the  midst  of  a  communi- 
ty hostile  to  his  views,  preaches  to  a  church  many 
of  whose  members  are  his  political  opponents. 
He  lays  down  his  principles  in  plain  terms,  and 
inculcates  them  with  gi'eat  earnestness,  yet  with 
so  much  grace,  tact,  and  courtesy  that  even  those 
whose  convictions  do  not  yield  to  his  arguments 

6*  I 


130  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

have  a  profound  respect  for  his  character,  and  a 
warm  affection  for  himself.  Undoubtedly  a  peo- 
ple may  become,  by  a  long  course  of  false  or  fee- 
ble teaching,  so  depraved  that  they  will  not  bear 
the  true  light ;  but  surely  the  greater  part  of 
the  churches  of  New  England,  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  will  bear  all  the  light  which  a  minister 
can  throw  upon  them.  And  at  the  worst,  it  is 
better  to  be  thrust  out  of  the  synagogue  for  speak- 
ing the  truth,  than  to  keep  one's  place  within  by 
suppressing  it. 

This  tact  is  no  less  necessary  to  the  minister 
out  of  the  pulpit  than  in  it.  The  position  of  a 
minister  has  a  tendency  to  isolate  him,  in  a  meas- 
ure, from  lay  humanity.  M.  Robert  Haudin  tells 
us,  that  dipping  his  hands  into  water  enabled  him 
to  plunge  them,  without  injury,  into  masses  of 
molten  metal.  The  water  changes  into  a  vapor, 
which  interposes  between  the  skin  and  the  fiery 
mass,  and  there  is  no  real  contact.  So  we  have 
seen  ministers  walking  about  among  their  people  ; 
life  throbs  and  glows  and  seethes  and  rages  around 
them,  but  they  are  enveloped  in  an  impalpable, 
professional  atmosphere  of  their  own  creating. 
They  hear  the  dash  of  the  waves  ;  they  see  un- 
happy souls  struggling  in  their  pitiless  embrace, 
and  O  how  gladly,  how  eagerly  would  they  reach 
out  a  hand  to  save  !  but  the  impalpable  atmos- 
phere rolls  between,  and  they  cannot  come  nigh 
them. 


A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  131 

It  is  not  so  in  other  professions.  The  lawyer 
must  possess  himself  of  the  facts  of  the  case  before 
he  undertakes  its  charge ;  or  the  reputation  and 
purse,  both  of  himself  and  his  client,  will  be  en- 
dangered. The  doctor  must  know  the  symptoms, 
the  delicate  sensations,  the  sharp  pains  and  the 
dull  aches  of  his  case,  or  his  prescriptions  are  at 
fault,  and  his  patient  dies  out  of  his  hands.  Client 
and  patient  are  well  aware  of  this,  and  need  little 
coaxing  to  unburden  themselves  of  facts  and  feel- 
ings. But  that  part  of  a  man  which  comes  under 
the  minister's  jurisdiction  is  neither  purse  nor 
pulse ;  it  is  only  the  soul,  —  the  immortal  princi- 
ple which  underlies,  overtops,  and  permeates  this 
life,  and  all  future  life  ;  and  men  are  chary  of  it. 
Partly  from  indifference,  the  result  of  wilful  short- 
sightedness and  ignorance  ;  partly  from  a  natural 
timidity  and  disinclination  to  bring  to  light  the 
hidden  things  of  the  heart ;  partly  from  actual 
inability  to  embody  shadowy,  half-defined,  and  not 
half-understood  ideas  in  words,  —  men  are  back- 
ward in  reveahng  the  symptoms  of  their  diseased 
souls  to  him  who  would  gladly  help  them  to  a  cure. 
The  spiritual  physician  must  feel  his  way  along. 
He  must  walk  by  sympathy,  not  by  sight  or  sound. 
He  needs  a  sixth  sense  to  interpret  to  his  heart 
what  his  eyes  and  ears  have  brought  to  his  brain. 
He  must  not  content  himself  with  taking  a  bird's- 
eye  view  of  the  surface  of  things  ;  he  must  drop 
his  line  into  the   deeps  and  shallows  to  find  out 


132  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

whitlier  the  currents  tend,  where  the  undertow 
lurks,  and  where  the  eddies  play.  He  must  be  on 
the  alert  to  find  out  what  those  influences  are 
which  make  the  cheek  flush  and  the  heart  throb  ; 
and  having  found  them,  he  must  know  when  to  use 
them,  and  when  to  refrain  from  using  them.  He 
should  study  to  insert  the  right  word  in  the  right 
place  ;  to  have  the  power  of  putting  himself,  in  a 
moment,  in  the  position  of  the  person  whom  he 
wishes  to  benefit.  In  fact,  I  consider  this  power 
indispensable  in  a  minister.  If  he  has  it  not,  he 
has  mistaken  his  calling.  It  is  not  possible  to  be  a 
good  pastor,  and  I  do  not  believe  it  is  possible  to 
be  a  good  preacher,  without  it.  A  man  may  write 
disquisitions,  full  of  sound  doctrine,  right  reasoning, 
careful  learning,  instructive  to  the  reader,  and  per- 
haps also  to  the  hearer,  valuable  contributions  to 
the  ecclesiastical  literature  of  his  age ;  but  he  can- 
not thrill  along  the  heart-strings  of  his  people  one 
day  in  the  week,  if  he  rides  over  them  rough-shod 
the  six  remaining  days. 

To  illustrate,  in  part,  what  I  mean :  I  once 
knew  a  minister  —  one  of  the  excellent  of  the  earth, 
humble,  devoted,  and  untiring,  willing  to  spend 
and  be  spent  in  the  service  of  the  Lord  —  who 
used  to  strike  out  after  this  fashion.  He  would 
make  a  call ;  have  the  whole  family  assembled, 
from  the  father  down  to  the  little  girl  nine  years 
old,  and,  beginning  at  the  head,  pounce  upon  each 
in  turn,  put  to  them  individually  the  most  point- 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  133 

blank  questions,  express  to  them  in  a  most  decided 
manner,  and  with  the  utmost  freedom,  his  opinion 
of  their  character  and  prospects,  give  a  httle 
wholesale  advise,  pointed  with  a  warning,  finish 
off  with  a  prayer,  then  mount  his  horse  and  ride 
away.  But  can  any  man  of  common  sense  sup- 
pose that  it  will  do  any  good  to  talk  to  a  father  of 
his  sins  in  the  listening  presence  of  three  or  four 
half-grown  up  children  ?  If  a  man  is  beginning  to 
think  upon  his  ways,  if  he  has  compunctions  of 
conscience,  if  he  has  doubts  or  fears  or  hopes 
which  his  pastor's  hand  may  do  much  to  remove 
or  strengthen,  is  this  a  good  opportunity  to  bring 
them  forward  ?  Will  he  be  likely  to  converse 
freely,  —  to  show  the  wounded  place  whereon  the 
balm  of  Gilead  should  be  laid  ?  Will  a  sensitive, 
shrinking,  timid  girl  be  disposed  to  lay  bare  her 
secret  heart  in  the  presence  of  her  meriy,  romp- 
ing, careless  brothers  ?  Will  she  unveil  to  half  a 
dozen  pairs  of  eyes,  the  hidden  thoughts  which  are 
scarcely  revealed  to  her  own  ?  How  can  a  minis- 
ter be  so  blind,  so  ignorant  of  human  nature,  as  to 
expect  to  accomplish  anything  in  this  way  ? 

I  know  another  case,  where  a  girl  of  sixteen 
was  propounded  for  admission  to  the  church.  Her 
pastor  visited  her  a  few  days  before  the  appointed 
Sabbath.  Several  members  of  her  own  family  and 
several  visitors  were  assembled  in  the  parlor.  The 
talk  was  light  and  discursive.  He  sat  on  one 
side  of  the  room,  she  on   the  other.     Presently 


134  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

there  came  a  lull  in  the  conversation,  of  which  he 
took  advantage.  Turning  to  her  he  began,  in  that 
peculiar  tone  which,  if  never  heard,  cannot  be 
imagined,  and,  if  once  heard,  need  never  be  de- 
scribed, "You  are  about  to  take  a  very  important 
step." 

Of  course,  this  remark,  being  dropped  suddenly 
into  the  current  of  conversation,  had  the  effect  of 
a  breakwater.  Everything  was  in  confusion  for 
a  moment.  The  visitors  did  not  know  what  it 
meant.  The  family,  who  did,  could  not,  in  pohte- 
ness,  rush  to  the  rescue,  while  the  silent  victim 
certainly  did  not  look  as  if  she  were  capable  of  tak- 
ing any  step  at  all. 

Now  this  good  man,  and  many  other  good  men, 
would  not  "  needlessly  set  foot  upon  a  worm,"  yet 
day  after  day  they  walk,  all  unconsciously,  over 
quivering  nerves. 

Ministers  are  apt  to  forget  that,  to  every  heart, 
its  own  experiences  are  new  and  fresh.  They 
know  that  as  in  water  face  answereth  to  face,  so 
doth  the  heart  of  man  to  man.  They  have  seen 
the  same  doubts  agitating,  the  same  fears  terrify- 
ing, the  same  contradictions  perplexing,  the  same 
hopes  dawning,  the  same  promises  comforting,  the 
same  faith  glowing,  for  ten,  twenty,  thirty  years. 
They  have  acquired  a  professional  familiarity  with 
spiritual  phenomena,  and  they  forget  that  these  are 
inwoven  with  the  innermost  life  of  individuals,  — 
that  to  bring  them  suddenly  into  the  day  is  exqui- 


A  VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  135 

site  torture.  It  is  true  that  the  two-edged  sword 
of  Divine  truth  does  sometimes  cleave  its  way 
down  into  the  heart  so  deep,  so  unerring,  that  the 
stricken  soul  seems  for  a  time  to  lose  consciousness 
of  all  external  things,  and  cries  aloud,  "  Lord,  save 
or  I  perish  !  "  The  world  recedes  !  The  sinner 
stands  face  to  face  with  his  sin,  and  it  is  too  dread- 
ful for  him  !  In  such  a  case,  circumstances  are 
little  heeded.  But  oftener  the  Spirit  descends 
gently,  like  the  dew  of  Hermon,  softening  the 
parched  soil  and  preparing  it  for  heavenly  seed. 
Then,  whoever  would  work  in  this  garden  of  the 
Lord  should  have  a  skilful  hand,  a  delicate  touch. 
A¥ithout  it,  he  breaks  the  bruised  reed.  He 
wounds  when  he  sought  only  to  heal.  He  meets 
silence  and  apparent  coldness,  where  he  would  fain 
find  warmth  and  confidence.  He  marvels  that  the 
ways  of  Zion  mourn,  that  few  come  to  her  solemn 
feasts. 

But  do  not  always  think, 

"  Because  the  song  hath  ceased, 
The  soul  of  song  hath  fled." 

True,  the  harp  is  still ;  and  it  may  be  because 
music  has  died  out  of  its  chords  ;  —  but  may  it  not 
also  be  because  your  untutored  fingers  have  no 
power  to  wake  its  tone  ? 

Again  ;  what  weapons  do  ministers  furnish  their 
young  people  against  infidelity  ?  How  many  of 
their  church-members  are  ready  to  give  a  satisfac- 
tory answer  to  the  Cappadocians  and  Bithynians 


136  A  VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

who  might  ask  them  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is 
in  them  ?  How  many  women  who  have  grown 
tip  in  a  Christian  congregation  can  show  any  but 
the  most  superficial  cause  why  they  are  Congrega- 
tionahsts  and  not  Episcopahans  ?  How  many  men 
can  tell  where  truth  and  falsehood  meet  in  "  Es- 
says and  Reviews,"  or  Renan's  ''Life  of  Jesus"? 
Essays  and  Reviews?  I  should  be  glad  if  boys 
and  girls  generally  could  repeat  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments in  order,  or  know  what  part  of  the  Bi- 
ble is  prose  and  what  is  poetry.  Do  you  say  that 
belongs  to  parents  ?  Say  it  to  the  parents,  then. 
Sermons  are  preached  to  fathers  and  mothers,  in 
which  they  are  admonished  to  bring  up  their  chil- 
dren in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord ; 
but  from  which  a  young  mother  could  not  gather 
a  single  hint  to  guide  her  in  managing  her  baby. 
It  is  the  eager  desire  of  parents  to  do  that  yery 
thing,  and  they  would  gladly  welcome  instruction ; 
but  to  be  good  for  anything,  it  must  be  definite. 
It  must  be  like,  in  kind,  to  certain  papers  on  that 
topic  by  the  Rev.  John  Todd,  printed  in  the  Con- 
gregationalist.  You  may  not  agree  with  every- 
thing he  says,  but  the  man  who  sets  one  thinking 
and  observing  for  one's  self,  is  more  helpful  than 
he  who  never  excites  thought  enough  for  agree- 
ment or  disagreement. 

I  spoke  of  "  Essays  and  Reviews."  They  are  a 
foreign  growth,  but  they  scatter  seed,  and  there  is 
plenty  of  ground  ready  to  receive  it.    It  will  surely 


A    VIEW  FROM   THE  PEWS.  137 

spring  up,  and  bear  fruit,  unless  supplanted  by  a 
better  crop.  "  Spiritualism  "  sprang  from  our  own 
soil,  and  gi-ew  up  like  Jonah's  gourd.  For  a  time, 
scarcely  a  community  existed  in  which  some  un- 
easy table  could  not  be  found.  I  have  heard  a 
doctor  of  divinity,  in  preaching  against  it,  use 
arguments  which  seemed  to  satisfy  himself,  and 
which  perhaps  might  satisfy  any  one  who  knew 
nothing  about  the  matter,  but  which  a  man,  who 
had  given  a  particle  of  honest  attention  to  real  oc- 
currences, might  sweep  away  with  one  pen-stroke. 
The  absurdity  of  the  refutation  was  only  equalled 
by  the  absurdity  of  the  thing  refuted.  I  do  not 
say  the  great  mass  of  sermons,  but  a  great  mass 
of  sermons,  are  like  the  bodies  of  which  we  some- 
times read,  which,  exhumed  after  having  been  a 
long  time  dead,  preserve  the  form  and  fulness  of 
hfe,  but,  brought  out  into  the  light  of  day  and 
touched  by  vital  air,  crumble  at  once  into  ashes 
and  nothingness.  It  is  better  not  to  touch  these 
things  than  to  touch  them  weakly :  but  men  need 
to  be  clad  in  the  whole  armor  of  God. 

Besides  the  quality  of  preaching,  there  is  surely 
an  abundant  room  for  improvement  in  the  man- 
ner. The  number  of  good  readers,  good  elocu- 
tionists, good  orators,  among  ministers,  is  surpris- 
ingly small.  Not  only  are  the  3"oung  men,  fresh 
from  theological  schools,  in  a  crude  state,  but  the 
strong  probability  is,  that  they  will  never  ripen. 
They  may  grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of 


138  A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  Their  views 
may  broaden,  their  sympathies  deepen.  Their 
certainties  may  waver  into  hypotheses,  and  their 
doubts  change  into  behef.  They  may  grow  char- 
itable, tolerant,  catholic,  genial.  And  they  may 
not ;  for  there  are  those  who,  if  they  deepen  at  all, 
deepen  only  in  the  one  rut  wherein  they  started,  — 
men  whose  weaknesses  and  errors  time  petrifies 
instead  of  removing.  But,  often,  while  the  man 
and  the  minister  goes  on  from  strength  to  strength, 
the  orator  preserves  a  masterly  inactivity.  He 
does  not  purpose  to  do  otherwise.  Some,  as  I  have 
intimated,  frown  down  any  attempt  to  adorn  and 
beautify  their  oratory.  They  call  it  extolling  the 
little  at  the  expense  of  the  great.  It  is  toying, 
trifling,  frivolity.  It  is  frittering  away  on  shadows 
what  should  be  spent  on  substance.  So  they  scorn 
''rhetoric."  Grace  of  style,  smoothness  of  diction, 
correctness  of  pronunciation,  beauty  of  modulation, 
sweetness  of  voice,  ease  of  manner,  appropriate- 
ness of  gesture,  —  what  are  these  where  souls  are 
to  be  saved  ?  It  is  Unitarianism.  It  is  Lyceum- 
izing  the  Church.  Your  Orthodox  minister  is  not 
going  to  be  caught,  nor  to  catch  you,  by  such 
chaff.  He  proclaims  from  his  pulpit  that  he  does 
not  expect  or  endeavor  to  charm  you  by  elo- 
quence. He  does  not  aim  to  be  "popular."  He 
does  not  seek  to  please  you  by  figures  of  speech 
and  poetical  periods  and  smooth  doctrine.  Let 
others    cater   to   your  tastes :    he   gives   you  the 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  139 

word  of  God.  If  you  do  not  like  his  preaching, 
it  is  because  your  natural  heart  revolts  against  the 
unadulterated  Gospel ;  it  is  because  you  want  to 
be  amused  and  entertained,  rather  than  warned 
and  instructed. 

But,  while  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judg- 
ment to  come  are  not  to  be  abandoned  on  account 
of  any  reluctance  to  accept  them,  or  any  prefer- 
ence for  something  else,  there  are  other  things 
which  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  These  things 
ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left  the 
others  undone.  Anything  that  attracts  men  ought 
not  to  be  considered  unworthy  of  the  minister's 
notice.  If  certain  qualities  will  induce  men  to 
listen  to  the  tnith,  he  ought  to  cultivate  such  qual- 
ities, if  by  any  means  he  may. save  some.  He 
should  be  content  with  nothing  lower  than  the 
highest.  If  men,  for  the  sake  of  gaining  the 
applause  of  their  fellows,  will  labor  to  make  them- 
selves attractive,  shall  not  he,  so  much  the  more, 
for  the  sake  of  gaining  souls  ?  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered, that  to  be  popular  is  not  to  be  shallow,  that 
to  be  interesting  is  not  to  be  weak,  that  to  be 
nice  is  not  to  be  finical,  that  rhetoric  is  not  incom- 
patible with  religion.  If  a  man  has  a  message 
from  God,  let  him  not  fear  to  clothe  it  in  language 
too  beautiful,  or  to  present  it  in  a  manner  too  win- 
ning. Let  him  not  disguise  it,  and  make  it  repul- 
sive. The  Gospel  is  sometimes  presented  so  un- 
couthly  or  so  indifferently  or  so  unfeelingly  that 


140  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

men  are  repelled  rather  than  drawn ;  and  the 
minister  who  repels  them  will  talk  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  natural  heart,  and  sincerely  believe  that 
it  is  his  plainness  of  speech,  his  fearless  utterance 
of  the  truth,  or  fearless  rebuke  of  sin,  that  is  dis- 
tasteful. It  is  well  for  a  minister  to  be  so  simple 
that-  the  most  ignorant  can  understand  him,  so 
well  educated  that  the  most  learned  can  respect 
him,  so  refined  that  the  most  fastidious  need  not 
be  offended.  It  is  not  required  that  he  shall  know 
more  about  everything  than  any  one  else ;  but  he 
ought  either  to  be  great  in  his  own  line,  or  respect- 
able in  all.  If  a  geologist  knows  more  about 
geology  than  any  other  man  living,  he  will  have 
the  respect  of  the  community,  even  if  he  is  not 
well  versed  in  literature  ;  but  if  he  is  only  a  me- 
diocre geologist,  he  needs  to  have  a  good  deal  of 
other  knowledge  to  keep  him  afloat.  Just  so  with 
ministers.  Very  few  are  so  great  in  their  special 
department  that  they  can  aflPord  to  be  small  in 
others.  Very  few  wield  a  logic  so  powerful  that 
rhetoric  can  give  no  further  strength.  Genius 
itself  is  improved  by  culture,  but  ordinary  endow- 
ments are  nothing  without  it.  Everything  that 
might  increase  influence  should  receive  close  atten- 
tion, not  to  the  neglect,  but  to  the  greater  effect- 
iveness, of  w^eightier  matters. 

Many  a  sermon,  which  evidently  might  do  good, 
is  spoiled  by  being  badly  delivered.  Words  are 
mumbled.     Sentences  are  hurried  through.     Em- 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  141 

pliasis  is  set  at  defiance.  Our  finest  hymns  are 
ruthlessly  murdered.  Some  hymns  are  bad  enough 
of  themselves,  but  good  and  bad  are  ground  in  the 
same  mill,  and  come  out  alike,  sheer  doggerel. 
We  shall  not  soon  forget  the  impression  produced 
by  such  a  reading  of  the  line 

"  Faith,  set  upon  a  world  to  come." 

Instead  of  making  a  slight  pause  after  "  Faith,"  as 
the  sense  required,  and  bringing  out  the  true  idea 
of  Faith,  with  steadfast  eye  fixed  upon  a  future 
world,  the  minister  rather  scanned  the  verse,  bring- 
ing the  pause  after  "  upon "  and  the  emphasis 
upon  it,  thus  : 

"  Faith  set  upon  —  a  world  to  come/' 

as  if  faith  were  a  hare  set  upon  by  a  pack  of 
hounds.  It  really  needed  reflection  to  select  the 
real  meaning  from  the  possible  ones  into  which 
the  barbarous  accents  of  this  excellent  man  had 
translated  it. 

It  is  rather  worse  to  disfigure  hymns  in  this 
way  than  sermons.  The  sermon  is  a  man's  own, 
and  his  own  reputation  alone  suffers  ;  but  the  au- 
thor of  the  unfortunate  hymn  is  dead,  or  absent, 
and  cannot  help  himself.  On  the  other  hand, 
however,  the  sermon  is  to  instruct,  admonish,  and 
enlighten  the  people  ;  and  if,  by  carelessness  or 
wilfulness,  it  is  badly  written  or  badly  spoken,  it  is 
not  the  man's  reputation  alone  that  suffers,  but  the 
welfare  of  the  people,  which  is  of  infinitely  more 


142  A   VIEW  FROM   THE  PEWS. 

importance.  The  most  excellent  way  is  for  a  man 
to  learn  to  read  before  he  begins  to  preach,  —  then 
he  can  read  anything.  If,  unfortunately,  he  has 
already  begun  to  preach  without  knowing  how  to 
read,  "  it  is  never  too  late  to  mend." 

A  great  many  sermons  are  preached  in  a  lifeless, 
professional  tone,  as  if  the  minister  were  preach- 
ing because  it  is  his  business,  not  because  he  has 
something  to  say.  He  receives  so  much  money, 
and  gives  so  much  sermon  in  return.  For  value 
received  he  promises  to  pay,  and  he  is  paying,  — 
like  the  honest  man  he  is.  He  does  not  love  you, 
his  hearer,  but  he  does  not  hate  you ;  in  fact,  he 
is  not  thinking  about  you  at  all.  He  is  not  think- 
ing about  anything  in  particular.  He  has  nothing 
in  view.  He  has  written  a  sermon,  and  is  there  to 
preach  it ;  the  rest  is  none  of  his  business.  If  you 
listen  to  it,  or  like  it,  or  do  not,  it  is  all  one  to  him. 
Ministers  may  not  often  feel  so ;  but  it  often  looks 
as  if  they  did.  There  is  no  mark  by  which  you 
shall  judge  that  they  heartily  believe  what  they 
are  saying,  or  heartily  wish  you  to  believe  it,  or 
think  it  to  be  of  paramount  importance  that  you 
should  believe  it,  or  that  their  hearts  are  in  the 
thing  at  all.  If  this  is  not  a  fault,  it  is  a  great 
misfortune.  A  man  must  be  himself,  but  he  may 
make  improvements.  He  cannot  change,  but  he 
can  work  up  his  raw  material.  Some  naturally 
have  more  action  and  animation  than  others  ;  but 
if  ministers  asked  women  to  marry  them  with  no 


A   VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  M.3 

more  apparent  earnestness  than  many  of  them 
preach  the  Gospel,  priestly  celibacy  would  not  be 
a  peculiarity  of  the  Romish  Church.  Action  need 
not  be  violent  or  vulgar,  and  quietude  need  not 
become  monotonous  and  tiresome. 

Some  ministers  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  have 
contracted  an  indignant,  vituperative  way  of 
preaching.  They  launch  the  denunciations  of 
the  Gospel  at  our  heads  with  an  air  that  seems  to 
say,  ''  Good  enough  for  you  !  "  They  look  upon 
gentle  words,  winning  persuasions,  encouragement, 
and  consolation  askant,  as  "  smooth  doctrine." 
Objurgation  is  their  forte.  Fire  and  brimstone  are 
more  available  with  them  than  the  milk  and  honey 
of  the  promised  land.  It  is  a  thousand  pities. 
Nothing  hardens  people  like  continued  fault-find- 
ing. If  their  minister  always  rebukes  them  for  sin 
as  if  he  were  angry  with  them,  they  will  be  flinty 
to  his  touch  ;  but  if  they  see  his  heart  melting  with 
compassion  and  sorrow  and  tenderness  for  them, 
even  while  he  abhors  their  sin,  there  is  not  one 
in  twenty  that  can  withstand  it. 

I  wish,  too,  our  clergymen  would  look  a  little 
more  carefully  to  their  language  and  pronuncia- 
tion. In  these  things  they  should  be  an  ensample 
to  their  flock.  "  If  gold  ruste,  what  shuld  iren 
do  ?  "  Yet  they  often  help  to  vitiate  rather  than 
preserve  or  purify  the  good  old  well  of  English 
undefiled.  How  often  is  "  taught  him  "  trans- 
formed  and  deformed  into  "  taught  'im."     "  And 


144 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 


Invariable,           Treasure, 

Hope, 

Therefore, 

Occasionally,       Measure, 

Whole, 

Often, 

Superintend,        Vital, 

Coat, 

Rise,  (noun,) 

Innumerable,       Testimony, 

Soon, 

Humor, 

Extraordinary,    Consumed, 

Worldly, 

View,  — 

words   which  I   have   far 

oftener 

heard    mispro- 

yet"  does  duty  as  "  an' jit."  "  Made  use  of" 
would  hardly  be  recognized  if  spelt  as  it  is  sound- 
ed, —  "  may  juice  of."  "  Blessed  union  "  is  flat- 
tened out  into  "  blessy  junion."  How  many  min- 
isters are  there  who,  at  first  sight,  will  correctly 
pronounce 

Invariable, 

Occasionall;^ 

Superintend 

Innumerabl( 

Extraordina 

words   whi 

nounced  than  pronounced  in  the  pulpit.  How 
can  we  go  right,  if  our  leaders  do  not  lead  in  the 
right  way  ? 

Was  an  Orthodox  minister  ever  known  to  use  the 
word  "  wife  "  in  the  pulpit  ?  From  the  manner  in 
which  he  steers  around  it,  one  might  suppose  that 
its  utterance  was  under  a  ban.  Your  "  consort," 
"  companion,"  the  "  partner  of  your  joys,"  or 
"  sorrows,"  or  "  bosom,"  is  recognized,  but  nobody 
ever  prays  for  your  "  wife."  Why  is  it  not  just 
as  well  to  say  that  Mr.  A.  will  preach  in  the  after- 
noon,  as  in  the  "  after  part  of  the  day  "  ?  Why 
not  say  that  the  man  whose  life  you  are  sketching 
was  married  at  such  an  age,  rather  than  that  he 
"  entered  into  the  married  relation  "  ?  Why  shall 
we  not  hear  in  the  pulpit  our  own  tongue  in  which 
we  were  born  ?  If  dignity  cannot  stand  Anglo- 
Saxon,   so  much  the  worse  for  dignity.     Good, 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  145 

simple,  common,  honest,  racy,  idiomatic  words  and 
phrases  are  not  only  the  strongest,  but  often  the 
most  eloquent.  The  cumbrous  euphuisms  of  a 
pulpit  patois  are  neither  pleasant  to  the  taste,  nor 
good  for  food.  Doubtless  many  sermons  which 
seem  dry  would  be  found  to  be  really  succulent 
if  they  could  only  be  translated  (though  others, 
indeed,  might  suffer  from  such  a  process)  ;  but  they 
are  given  in  a  language  and  in  tones  which  no  one 
ever  hears  at  his  table,  or  in  his  parlor,  or  in  a  rail- 
way car  ;  and  it  Is  difficult  to  believe  that  a  person 
who  has  anything  to  say  would  talk  In  such  a  fash- 
ion. Paul  was  as  argumentative,  as  abstract,  as 
learned,  as  theological,  as  any  one  need  be,  but  his 
words  were  concrete  and  cleaving.  I  do  not  al- 
ways understand  him,  but  I  feel  confident  that  he 
understood  himself.  The  line  of  his  arguments 
sometimes  seems  to  run  zigzag,  but  you  can  see 
that  he  is  in  deadly  earnest.  He  was  so  interested 
that  he  became  interesting.  Sympathy  makes  up 
for  sense.  Through  all  these  eighteen  hundred 
years  his  dead  lips  speak  with  a  fire  and  fervor, 
his  silent  voice  rings  out  with  a  clearness  and 
power,  that  many  a  living  voice  and  living  lips 
do  not  attain. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  sermons  on  every- 
day life  in  e very-day  language  require  less  study 
and  thought  than  others.  They  require  more. 
When  you  come  down  to  matters  which  every  one 
touches  at  some  point,  every  one  is  plaintiff,  de- 
7  J 


146  A    VIEW   FROM   THE  PEWS. 

fendant,  advocate,  and  judge.  A  clergyman  can 
write  the  learned  lore  of  the  schoolmen,  and  we 
are  so  little  interested  and  know  so  little  what  he 
is  aiming  at,  that  he  has  things  pretty  much  his 
own  way.  A  man  may  build  iis  a  pantheon  or  a 
pagoda,  and  we  cannot  swear  that  it  is  not  the  one 
nor  the  other.  But  if  he  undertakes  to  build  us  a 
house  to  live  in,  we  shall  know  whether  he  suc- 
ceeds, and  he  must  hit  the  nail  on  the  head, 
or  he  will  bruise  his  hands,  besides  driving  the 
nail  awry.  Nor  does  the  use  of  common  lan- 
guage mean  the  use  of  vulgar  language.  Collo- 
quialisms sometimes  will  illustrate  truth,  but  they 
should  be  used  only  in  a  state  of  fusion.  To  go 
out  of  one's  way  to  use  them,  is  to  abuse  them. 
Vulgarity  is  always  inadmissible.  No  fancied 
benefit  can  atone  for  the  employment  of  such 
words  and  phrases  as  "  scamp,"  "  turn  up  your 
nose,"  etc.,  which  I  have  heard  used  in  Orthodox 
pulpits.  A  minister  should  be  the  last  to  coun- 
tenance terms  which  are  unbecoming  in  a  gen- 
tleman. 

Do  these  things  seem  trivial  ?  But  God,  in  or- 
daining his  priesthood,  would  not  be  ministered 
unto  by  a  man  who  had  a  flat  nose.  How  much 
less  shall  one  serve  in  his  sanctuary  with  unclean 
hps  ! 

I  am  afraid  that  I  may  seem  to  be  making  out 
the  people  to  be  a  kind  of  injured  innocent,  and 
the  pastor  an  ogre  preying  upon  it.     Not  so.    The 


A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS.  147 

people  have  faults  and  to  spare.  With  the  wisest 
manipulation,  there  will  doubtless  always  be  some 
fault.  But  a  people  is  not  all  fault.  That  is 
the  point  I  wish  to  bring  into  prominence.  If  I 
have  made  it  too  prominent,  it  will  only  balance 
undue  depression,  and  the  average  altitude  will 
not  be  far  wrong. 

It  may  be  said,  also,  Why  seek  to  bring  people 
to  church,  if  church  services  are  so  deficient  ? 
Why?  Because  half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no 
bread.  Because  God  commands  us  not  to  forsake 
the  assembling;  of  ourselves  tocrether.  Because 
experience  shows  that  a  community  without  a 
church  is  very  likely  to  become  a  community 
without  God.  Because  you  always  expect  a 
church-going  people  to  be  more  respectable,  vir- 
tuous, and  benevolent  than  one  that  is  not,  and 
you  are  seldom  disappointed.  But  w^hen  you  look 
at  the  other  side,  so  appalling  is  the  extent  of 
practical  heathendom,  so  shallow  is  the  depth 
of  practical  Christianity,  that  it  almost  seems  as 
if  everything  still  remains  to  be  done.  We  are 
as  good  as  we  are,  because  our  ministers  are  so 
good ;  we  are  as  bad  as  we  are,  because  they 
are  no  better.  Like  people,  like  priest.  A  people 
must  be  as  low  as  its  lowest;  it  can  be  no  higher 
than  its  hio;hest. 

I  have  not  drawn  any  fanciful  picture  of  paro- 
chial bliss.  It  is  from  ministers  themselves  that  1 
have  learned  what  ministers  may  be.     It  is  in  the 


148  A    VIEW  FROM  THE  PEWS. 

light  of  the  pulpit  that  pulpit  shadows  deepen.  If 
I  had  not  known  the  influence  which  ministers 
may  exert  over  people,  if  I  had  not  known  the 
love  and  respect  which  people  may  feel  towards 
ministers,  I  should  not  have  dreamed  what  that 
influence  and  that  deference  may  be.  I  have 
mentioned  no  defect  which  has  not  fallen  under 
my  own  observation.  I  have  painted  no  grace 
which  is  not  from  the  life.  If  the  standard  is  set 
too  high,  it  is  not  my  hand  that  bore  it.  I  have 
but  pointed  to  its  folds,  floating  far  up  in  the  clear, 
pure  air,  not  without  a  hope  that  the  sight  may  do 
somewhat  towards  inspiring  the  fervent  battle-cry, 
"  Forward !     All  forward  !  " 


VL 


PRAYER-MEETINGS. 


HEN  they  that  feared  the  Lord  spake 
often  one  to  another,  and  the  Lord 
hearkened  and  heard  it."  But  if  the 
Lord  hearkens  to  everything  that  is 
said  at  our  prayer-meetings,  and  if,  beneath  the 
words,  he  discovers  the  underlying  motive  and 
feelincr,  I  sometimes  fear  that  his  book  of  remem- 
brance  will  receive  its  largest  accession  of  names 
from  other  quarters. 

Prayer-meetings,  —  meetings  for  prayer,  —  yet 
how  little  real  praying,  —  for  that  matter,  how 
little  praying  of  any  kind.  By  way  of  illustration, 
let  me  mention  one  instance.  At  the  instigation 
of  certain  missionaries,  a  prayer-meeting  was  to  be 
held  a  short  time  ago,  for  several  nights  in  suc- 
cession, simultaneously  throughout  Christendom. 
At  one  of  these  meetings,  which  lasted  three 
hours,  there  were  two,  possibly  three  prayers  ; 
not  more.     The  rest  of  the  time  was  consumed 


150  PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS 

in  talking.  It  was  said  that  no  one  was  to  oc- 
cupy more  than  ten  minutes.  When  a  man  has 
but  ten  minutes  to'  talk,  it  is  obvious  he  ought  to 
talk  fast  and  concisely,  and  not  waste  time  in  apol- 
ogies,—  if  he  has  anything  to  say;  if  he  has  not, 
he  ought  not  to  speak  at  all.  The  first  speaker  at 
this  meeting  was  at  least  five  minutes  in  really 
beginning,  and  then  he  became  so  entangled 
in  his  metaphors  and  similes,  that  he  did  not 
clear  himself  for  half  an  hour.  In  a  parlor,  this 
would  have  been  a  gross  impertinence.  What 
was  it  in  a  chapel  ?  No  matter  how  well  he  might 
have  talked,  no  matter  if  he  had  spoken  with  the 
tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  every  well-bred  per- 
son must  have  felt  tliat  he  was  thrustino;  himself 
in  where  lie  did  not  belong,  that  he  was  occupying 
time  which  was  due  to  other  people.  The  second 
man,  who  had  evidently  been  "  reading  up  "  for  the 
occasion,  brought  out,  for  another  half-hour,  the 
biography  of  two  good  men,  whose  memoirs  are 
in  every  one's  hands,  and  if  they  were  not,  there 
was  no  appropriateness  in  supplying  the  deficiency 
on  such  an  occasion.  A  third  occupied  himself 
in  mourning  over  the  low  state  of  piety  in  the 
Church.  And  so  it  went  on  for  three  hours,  —  a 
prayer-meeting  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
and  not  one  tenth  of  the  time  devoted  to  praying, 
and  the  heathen  left  out  altogether.  Many  Chris- 
tian hearts  may  have  been  edified,  but  it  certainly 
seems  to  me  that  the  world  can  be  converted  in  a 
far  more  economical  way  than  that. 


PRA  YER-MEETINGS.  151 

This  was,  perhaps,  an  extreme  case,  but  is  it 
exceptional  to  have  a  prayer-meeting  made  the 
vehicle  of  crude  reflection,  shallow  emotion,  su- 
perficial experience,  monotonous  exhortations,  vain 
babbhngs,  —  much  of  self,  little  of  God,  —  much 
of  vain  repetition,  little  of  soul- wrestling,  —  too 
much  of  the  Pharisee  in  the  temple,  too  little  of 
Jacob  at  Penuel  ? 

Would  it  not  be  well  if  church-members,  in- 
stead of  lamenting  that  the  ways  of  Zion  mourn, 
and  few  come  to  her  solemn  feasts,  would  seriously- 
set  themselves  to  inquiring  whether  the  feasts 
are  worth  coming  to.  If,  when  we  invite  people 
to  a  feast  of  fat  things  full  of  marrow,  of  wines  on 
the  lees  well  refined,  we  furnish  forth  our  tables 
with  dry  bones  and  brackish  water,  ought  we  to 
complain  if  they  are  shy  of  accepting  our  hospi- 
tality ?  Were  a  man  ever  so  fond  of  bread,  he 
would  hardly  relish  a  meal  of  stones ;  how  much 
less  when  his  appetite  has  become  so  vitiated  that 
he  has  lost  his  desire  for  the  bread  of  life,  and 
needs  to  be  lured  by  all  innocent  devices  ! 

It  is  not  the  want  of  cultivation  and  education 
that  makes  the  empty  benches  at  our  prayer- 
meetings.  True,  there  are  solecisms,  rhetorical 
redundancies,  awkwardness  of  posture,  and  un- 
couthness  of  gesture,  which  are  not  sweet  to 
eye  or  ear ;  nor  am  I  of  the  number  who  believe 
it  sacrilege  to  take  exception  to  anything  that 
occurs  in  religious  meetings.     The  ark  was  holy 


152  PRAYER-MEETINGS 

unto  the  Lord,  so  that  Uzzah,  putting  forth  a 
presumptuous  hand  to  it,  was  smitten  for  his  error 
and  died  ;  but  the  ark  went  up  from  Kirjath-jearim 
in  an  ox-cart. 

So  long  as  men  are  influenced  by  extraneous 
things,  we  ought  to  make  extraneous  things  ap- 
propriate. Our  best  is  not  too  good  for  the  Lord's 
service.  He  does  not  want  the  poor  and  the  lame 
and  the  sick  for  an  offering,  but  the  firstlings  of 
the  flock,  without  spot  or  blemish.  The  old 
woman's  principle  was  correct,  though  we  may 
perhaps  demur  at  her  application  of  it,  when  she 
poured  the  contents  of  her  molasses  jug  into  hei 
terrified  pastor's  tea-cup,  with  the  affectionate  dec- 
laration, "  can't  be  too  sweet  for  the  minister !  "  It 
is  absurd  to  suppose  that,  because  a  man  is  religious, 
he  need  not  be  intelligent,  —  that  piety  is  to  be  a 
shield  for  ignorance,  —  that  any  kind  of  grammar 
will  do  for  a  prayer.  Of  course  it  is  better  to 
pray  blunderingly  than  not  to  pray  at  all ;  but 
better  than  either  is  it  to  pray  without  blunders. 
This  world's  language,  in  its  most  cultivated  state, 
is  not  too  good  for  the  courts  of  heaven. 

I  make  these  remarks,  first,  because  there  are 
men  who  seem  rather  to  glory  in  their  ignorance, 
who  speak  of  their  want  of  "  book-learning  "  as 
a  praiseworthy  thing,  who  boast  that  they  have 
none  of  the  graces  of  oratory,  and  who  go  on 
hammering  out  their  disconnected  sentences  with  a 
self-complacence  at  once  ridiculous  and  disgusting. 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  153 

Of  all  forms  of  pride,  this  is  the  most  intolerable. 
Pride  of  birth,  pride  of  wealth,  pride  of  beauty, 
have  some  excuse  in  the  intrinsic  value  of  the 
thing  possessed  ;  but  pride  of  ignorance  and  stu- 
pidity and  vulgarity  lias  no  shadow  of  palliation. 
An  icrnorant  man  unconscious  of  his  io-norance  is 
a  pitiable  object.  An  ignorant  man  conscious  of 
his  ignorance,  striving  every  day  to  remove  it,  and 
modest  in  the  consciousness,  commands  not  only 
sympathy,  but  respect.  An  ignorant  man,  glory- 
incr  in  his  imiorance,  is  a  nuisance  that  ouo;ht  to 
be  abated.  We  admire  sense  and  energy  and 
worth  that  have  struggled  up  to  prominence  and 
influence,  though  the  garment  be  coarse  and  the 
dialect  harsh  ;  but  it  is  not  the  coarseness  and 
harshness  that  -we.  respect,  but  the  manhood  that 
we  discern  in  spite  of  them.  Much  as  we  value 
the  man  with  them,  we  should  value  him  still 
more  without  them.  The  energy  that  quarried 
the  marble  was  wonderful ;  if  it  could  have  pol- 
ished it  too,  it  would  have  been  still  more  won- 
derful;  but  it  would  be  ineffable  stupidity  for  a 
rickety  beer-cask  to  waddle  up  beside  the  marble 
shaft,  and  claim  fellowship  on  the  score  of  a 
common  ugliness.  A  diamond  in  the  rough  is  a 
treasure  for  a  king's  ransom  ;  but  the  rough 
without  the  diamond  is  mere  rubbish ;  and  even 
the  diamond  must  be  cut  into  brilliancy  before  it 
is  worthy  to  be  set  in  the  king's  diadem. 

Above  all  things,  let  us  not  bring  our  ignorance 
7* 


154  PRA  YER-MEETINGS. 

as  a  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord,  well  pleasing.  No 
thought  can  be  too  beautiful,  no  language  too 
chaste,  for  his  service.  When  we  speak  directly 
to  him,  his  glory  often  overshadows  us  so  that  we 
can  only  bow  our  heads  in  reverence,  and  humbly 
say,  "  Lord  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner "  ;  and 
even  when  we  look  away  from  him,  and  would 
fain  speak  of  his  excellences,  his  grandeur,  and 
might,  and  majesty,  his  loving-kindness  and  ten- 
der mercj^  beam  upon  us  with  such  refulgence 
that  we  can  only  exclaim,  "  The  Lord,  he  is  the 
God ;  the  Lord,  he  is  the  God."  But  when 
we  are  moved  to  speech,  earth  and  sea  and  sky 
can  furnish  nothing  too  rare  and  precious  to 
adorn  it. 

The  ark  went  up  in  an  ox-cart ;  but  it  was  no 
battered,  disjointed,  rattling  vehicle.  It  was  a 
"  new  cart."  Christ  rode  Into  Jerusalem  on  an 
ass,  but  it  was  a  fresh  young  animal,  whereon 
never  man  sat.  Let  us  take  to  God  the  strongest 
and  the  fairest  and  the  best,  and  continually  strive 
to  make  the  best  better. 

I  have  said  thus  much,  secondly,  because  so 
many  draw  a  line  around  all  religious  services, 
and  consider  everything  within  it  as  without  the 
pale  of  legitimate  criticism  ;  but  when  one  speaks 
of  a  wicked  man  digging  a  ditch,  which  shall 
fall  on  his  own  head,  can  one  help  reflecting 
what  a  remarkable  ditch  it  must  be,  even  if  it 
was  found  in  a  prayer  ?     When  a  man  uses  the 


PRA  YER-MEETINGS.  155 

same  verb  fifteen  times  in  three  minutes,  can  one 
help  wishing  he  would  leave  it  out  twelve  or  thir- 
teen times  ?  But  if  you  should  say  so,  you  have, 
doubtless,  many  excellent  friends,  who  would 
look  upon  you  with  a  kind  of  holy  horror,  as  a 
modified  species  of  heathen.  There  are  men 
who  seem  to  think  it  irreverent  to  address  the 
Deity  in  natural  tones,  and  pitch  their  voices  in 
prayer  on  a  most  unearthly  key.  There  are 
others  who  seem  to  lose  their  breath  in  pronoun- 
cino;  the  name  of  the  Lord  :  but  these  thino;s  must 
never  be  noticed.  Everything  that  happens  '*  in 
meetino;  "  must  be  taken  without  wincino^.  This 
seems  to  me  unwise  and  uncandid,  —  uncandid, 
because  little  absurdities  do  occur  ;  why  should 
we  not  frankly  admit  it  ?  Is  not  our  religion 
strong  enough  to  bear  it  ?  Unwise,  because  it  helps 
men  cherish  little  foibles,  which  hinder  their  use- 
fulness, which  they  ought  to  get  rid  of,  and  which 
a  very  little  kindness  in  others,  and  pains  on  their 
own  part,  would  enable  them  to  remove.  We 
have  the  treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  and  earthen 
vessels  are  liable  to  mould  in  the  damp,  and  to 
crack  in  the  frost,  and  to  have  bits  nicked  out 
from  unexplained  causes.  If  we  refuse  to  have 
them  examined  and  cared  for  because  they  contain 
a  sacred  treasure,  we  may  find,  to  our  sorrow,  that 
a  part  of  the  treasure  has  escaped  through  a  treach- 
erous hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  jar. 

Suppose  David  had  found  the  ark  in  a  dilapi- 


156  PRA  YER-MEETINGS. 

dated  old  cart,  and  had  called  out  his  thirty  thou- 
sand chosen  men  with  harps  and  psalteries  and 
timhrels  and  cornets  and  cymbals,  to  give  it  a  tri- 
umphal entry  into  the  city ;  would  there  not,  very 
likely,  have  been  men  here  and  there  who  would 
have  discovered  and  announced  that  the  paint  was 
worn  dingy,  that  the  shafts  were  broken,  that  the 
tire  was  springing  from  the  wheel,  and  the  linch- 
pin was  coming  out?  And  if  David  had  tried  to 
silence  them  by  saying,  "  Hold  ye  your  peace  ! 
it  is  the  ark  of  the  Lord,"  would  they  not  have 
justly  replied :  "  Not  so.  It  is  not  the  ark  of  the 
Lord.  It  is  nothing  but  an  old  cart ;  but  because 
it  does  carry  the  ark  of  the  Lord,  it  should  be  the 
very  best  that  the  land  can  furnish.  Go  to,  let  us 
cast  aside  the  miserable  thing,  and  build  a  better, 
even  a  worthier." 

To  ridicule  the  honest  efforts  of  shrinking  mod- 
esty requires  9  weak  head  and  a  bad  heart.  He 
who  can  feel,  not  to  say  express,  a  sentiment  ap- 
proaching to  mockery  at  the  mistakes  whicli  sen- 
sitiveness and  ao;itation  will  often  make,  has  a 
coarse-fibred  as  well  as  a  depraved  mind.  The 
finest  natures  often  make  the  worst  figures  in 
public.  Real  delicacy  feels  a  sympathy  with  the 
embarrassment  so  strong,  and  a  respect  for  the 
courage  so  profound,  as  to  preclude  every  other 
emotion  ;  but  these  feelings  are  not  called  out 
by  the  objectionable  habits  into  which  men  fall 
through  carelessness  or  ignorance. 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  157 

Still,  as  I  was  about  to  saj,  these  things  are  only 
circumstances  ;  they  are  not  essences.  They  do 
in  no  wise  account  for  the  leanness  that  often  pre- 
sides at  our  spiritual  feasts.  The  bodily  presence 
may  be  weak,  and  the  speech  contemptible  ;  but  if 
the  fire  of  Divine  Love  be  kindled  in  the  heart, 
there  will  flash  through  all  disguises  an  eloquence 
which  is  not  of  the  earth,  earthy  ;  which  is  of  the 
Lord  from  heaven.  The  faltering  words  of  a 
hesitating  soul  trembling  between  fear  of  man  and 
love  of  God  have  often  cloven  the  armor  of  a  self- 
ish, worldly  nature,  piercing  even  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  soul  and  spirit.  The  angel  of  the  Lord 
lays  the  live  coal  alike  upon  the  lips  of  learned 
and  unlearned,  and  speeds  them  on  heavenly 
errands. 

There  are  in  prayer-meetings  more  serious 
defects  than  these,  —  defects  which  admit  of  no 
palliation, — defects  which  every  one  ought  to 
deprecate,  condemn,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  root 
out.  I  mean  the  mockery  of  holy  things  ;  the 
cant  which,  under  the  name  of  piety,  wearies  the 
Lord  with  its  words  ;  the  Pharisaism  which  would 
pass  for  Christianity  ;  the  Avholesale  slander  which 
covers  itself  with  the  mantle  of  religious  zeal ;  the 
censoriousness  which  assumes  the  crarb  of  faithful- 
ness  ;  the  heartlessness  which  handles  the  denun- 
ciations of  God  as  a  child  handles  its  playthings. 
Such  displays  are  not  common.  Shame  that  they 
should   ever    occur  !     Shame    that   the    way    to 


158  PRA  YER-MEETINGS. 

heaven    should   ever   be    turned   into  a   way   to 
death  ! 

Not  so  bad  as  this,  yet  radically  wrong,  both  as 
a  fact  and  as  a  sign,  are  the  paucity  of  thought 
and  the  shallowness  of  feeling  so  commonly  ex- 
hibited at  prayer-meetings.  Our  exhortations 
and  prayers  are  too  often  the  result  of  an  outward 
necessity,  not  of  an  inward  prompting.  We 
speak,  not  because  our  hearts  burn  within  us,  — 
not  because  we  feel  that,  if  we  should  hold  our 
peace,  the  very  stones  would  cry  out, —  but  be- 
cause the  meeting  must  be  kept  up.  Instead  of 
definiteness,  conciseness,  and  pith,  —  "  infinite 
riches  in  a  little  room,"  —  we  have  abstractions 
and  dilutions  and  doublings  and  painful  egotisms. 
It  is  routine  and  duty  and  treadmill.  This  must 
be,  just  so  long  as  our  lives  furnish  nothing  higher. 
If  we  put  God  out  of  our  thoughts  on  Monday 
and  Tuesday,  we  cannot  have  any  new  thought  of 
God  wherewith  to  strengthen  our  brother's  soul 
on  Tuesday  evening.  No  harvest  can  spring  up 
where  no  seed  is  sown.  You  cannot  be  warm  and 
filled  because  you  are  bidden  to  be.  You  cannot 
feel  interested  simply  because  you  ought  to  feel 
so.  You  cannot  have  something  to  say  because 
you  are  called  upon  to  say  something.  A  thought 
must  be  wrought  out  in  your  soul  before  it  can 
pass  through  your  lips.  We  can  gather  ourselves 
together  and  multiply  words,  but  unless  we  are 
charged  with  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  heart 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  159 

meets  heart  to  little  purpose ;  brain  flashes  no  light 
on  brain. 

It  is  not  that  worshippers  are  to  be  startled 
into  attention  and  interest  bv  news,  novelty,  ec- 
centricities, conceits,  and  far-fetched  combinations, 
nor  that  prayer-meetings  are  to  be  turned  into 
exchanges,  where  people  are  to  meet  in  order  to 
tell  or  to  hear  some  new  thing.  It  is  the  grand  old 
truths  that  the  world  wants  perversely  to  forget, 
and  of  which  it  needs  to  be  forever  reminded, 
but  in  love,  not  hate  or  scorn  or  pride.  It  is  the 
same  old  carol  words  chanted  by  Moses  when  time 
was  young,  —  harped  for  all  ages  by  Israel's  shep- 
herd-king, —  swelling  in  fuller  strains  as  the  heav- 
enly host  gathered  over  the  hills  of  Judaea,  —  that 
man  needs  to  have  forever  sung  to  him  in  new 
notes  and  chords  and  concords,  that  shall  witch 
back  his  flagging  interest,  and  charm  away  his 
indifference  "  ere  he  is  aware." 

What  we  want  is  more  of  the  spirit  of  Christ 
in  our  hearts.  Our  chapels  can  never  become  the 
gate  of  heaven  till  there  is  more  of  heaven  in  our- 
selves. "  The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 
The  life  of  the  prayer-meeting  depends  on  the  life 
of  the  shop,  the  office,  the  farm,  the  dairy,  the 
kitchen,  the  closet. 

This  meagreness  of  life  is  often  painfully  indi- 
cated by  the  avidity  with  which  unusual  incidents 
are  seized  and  spun  out  and  wrought  into  moral 
reflections  and  practical  applications.    An  immense 


160  PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS. 

quantity  of  nondescript  rhetoric  is  evolved  in  the 
attempt  to  "  improve  "  a  "  providence."  Un- 
doubtedly there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  providence, 
and  there  is  such  a  thing  as  improving  it ;  but 
providences  are  always  happening,  and  we  are 
not  always  improving  them  when  we  think  we 
are. 

Providences  (as  the  word  is  colloquially  used) 
are  always  happening.  To  the  man  whose  eyes  the 
Lord  hath  opened,  no  day  passes  without  bringing 
fresh  proof  of  God's  love  or  wisdom  or  power ;  but 
many  of  us  walk  with  blind  eyes  and  deaf  ears 
to  the  beauty  that  breathes  and  the  music  that 
rings  all  along  our  daily  paths.  Only  when  w^e 
receive  a  great  shock,  when  something  breaks  in 
upon  the  selfish,  stolid  monotone  of  our  lives  and 
forces  our  notice,  are  we  startled  into  wonder, 
admiration,  and  awe,  and  exclaim,  "  Surely  the 
Lord  is  in  this  place,  and  I  knevv^  it  not."  Then, 
wath  honest  purpose,  with,  no  doubt,  sincere  de- 
sire to  learn  and  to  teach  the  lesson  which  it  bears, 
we  begin  to  expound  and  warn  and  infer  and  ad- 
monish, till  the  theme  is  "  done  to  death."  Waked 
suddenly  from  our  slothful  inertia,  we  lay  about 
us  right  and  left  with  eager  but  awkward  strokes. 
By  as  much  as  we  have  been  remiss  before,  by  so 
much  we  now  overdo.  This  is,  indeed,  better 
than  the  inertia.  Agitation,  be  it  ever  so  violent 
and  irregular,  is  better  than  stagnation.  But 
better  than  either   is  the  quiet,  healthful  flow  of 


PRA  YER-MEETINGS.  161 

the  life-giving  river  rolling  through  green  meadows 
and  purple  vineyards  to  the  peaceful  sea.  Our 
hves  should  be  more  equable.  If  our  religion 
permeated  all  the  root-fibres  and  branch-tendrils 
of  our  souls,  it  would  bud  and  blossom  in  perpet- 
ual spring  ;  whereas  it  too  often  lies  long  dormant, 
and  then  shoots  up  into  spasmodic  and  short-lived 
growth.  If  God  were  to  us  an  own  familiar  friend 
in  whom  we  trusted  ;  if  we  could  learn  to  look 
with  serious,  yet  not  sad  eyes,  upon  the  eternal 
side  of  all  living,  and  entwine  the  practical,  the 
present,  the  homely,  and  the  humble  with  the 
grand,  the  unseen  and  eternal ;  if  we  could  look 
upon  the  shop,  the  field,  the  kitchen,  the  parlor, 
not  simply  as  the  servants  of  the  body,  but  as  the 
ministers  of  the  soul,  —  we  should  not  need  to 
fasten  upon  any  one  incident  to  furnish  the  staple 
for  our  prayer-meetings  ;  we  should  be  embar- 
rassed only  by  the  multitude  which  from  all  sides 
would  call  upon  our  souls  to  praise  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  We  should  be  continually  improving 
providences,  —  speaking  often  one  to  another  of 
the  wonderful  works  of  God. 

On  a  certain  Sabbath  morning,  several  years 
ago,  an  earthquake  set  one  of  our  New  England 
cities  a-trembling  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  went 
on  its  way  ;  but  throughout  the  day,  and  I  know 
not  how  lono;  after,  the  relio-ious  services  were 
saturated  with  earthquake.  It  was  served  up  in 
the  pulpit  and  the  Sabbath  school  and  the  prayer- 


162  PRA  YER-MEETINGS. 

meeting,  by  clergy  and  laity,  till  one  could  not 
help  feeling  that  the  good  people  handled  the  poor 
earthquake  a  great  deal  more  severely  than  the 
earthquake  handled  them.  Do  not  misunderstand 
me.  Do  not  suppose  that  I  object  to  drawing 
moral  lessons  from  physical  or  other  occurrences. 
Object  ?  It  is  the  very  thing  which  I  think  we 
ought  to  do,  —  only  we  ought  to  do  a  great  deal 
more  of  it  —  and  a  great  deal  less  ;  more  in  some 
directions,  less,  relatively,  in  others  ;  more  on  or- 
dinary, less,  relatively,  on  extraordinary  occasions. 
From  every  such  occurrence  it  is  meet,  right,  and 
our  bounden  duty,  to  draw  all  the  good  it  has  to 
give  ;  but  having  pumped  it  dry,  what  is  the  use 
of  jerking  the  handle  up  and  down,  especially 
when  thousands  of  living  springs  are  welling 
through  the  verdure  under  our  feet,  and  all  around 
us  ? 

It  is,  indeed,  but  natural  that  rare  events  should 
excite  more  attention  than  common  ones.  Al- 
though an  earthquake  no  more  exhibits  and  illus- 
trates God's  power  and  presence  than  the  daily 
returning  sun,  yet  it  will,  from  its  very  infre- 
quence,  produce  a  deeper  and  more  solemn  im- 
pression of  his  power.  This  is  all  right.  It  is  not 
that  one  event  goes  too  deep,  but  that  the  many 
do  not  go  deep  enough.  The  one  impression  need 
not  be  diminished,  but  the  other  needs  to  be  in- 
creased. We  shall  never  attain  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ  till  we  get  into 


PRA  YER-MEETINGS.  163 

equilibrium,  till  we  better  understand  the  relations 
of  things.  We  need  to  remember  that  God  num- 
bers the  hairs  of  our  heads,  and  watches  the  young 
sparrows  as  they  %,  and  calls  the  stars  by  name, 
and  showers  new  mercies  every  morning,  and  fresh 
blessings  every  evening.  If  we  will  but  assign  to 
these  e very-day  events  their  true  place  In  the 
Divine  economy,  we  shall  not  exhaust  ourselves 
and  others  with  convulsive  efforts  to  wrench  from 
some  startling  and  unusual  event  the  lesson  which 
every  sunrise  would  gladly  teach.  He  who  can 
express  the  strength-giving  juice  from  all  fruits, 
need  not  cling  to  the  dry  rind  of  any.  If  we 
would  see  God's  providence,  his  vrise  and  careful 
and  benevolent  foresight,  as  displayed  wherever  we 
choose  to  look,  we  should  not  harp  upon  any  sin- 
gle exhibition  of  It.  But  we  forget  the  undulations 
which  make  the  landscape  so  rich,  so  varied,  and 
so  beautiful,  and  notice  only  the  mountains  that 
lift  their  hoar  heads  to  the  clouds.  Thereby  we 
lose  much  ;  for  though  the  mountains  are  grand, 
and  speak  grand  words,  —  of  passion  soothed  into 
repose,  and  strength  ministering  to  humanity,  and 
vigor  waiting  upon  beauty,  —  yet  the  mountains 
are  few  and  far,  accessible  only  to  Individuals, 
and  require  toilsome  journeylngs  and  waitings 
and  watchings  ;  while  the  hills  swell  everywhere, 
clothed  with  greenness  and  crowned  with  flowers. 
The  thunder-cloud  sweeps  over  the  sky,  and  flings 
its  impetuous  abundance  to  the  earth,  that  drinks 


1 64  PRA  YER'MEETINGS. 

it  In  with  tliirstj  lips  ;  but  the  life  that  wakes  in 
maple-buds,  and  pierces  the  brown  soil  in  tender 
herbage,  and  breathes  in  the  first  sweet  scents  of 
snowdrop  and  hyacinth  and  arbutus,  is  the  child 
of  gentle  spring  showers  and  silent  summer  dews. 

We  have  all  heard  of-  the  man  who  was  grate- 
fully narrating  the  mercy  of  God  in  preserving 
him  unhurt  when  his  horse  stumbled  and  threw 
him  upon  the  rocks.  "  But  I,"  said  his  friend, 
"  have  still  greater  reason  to  be  thankful ;  for  my 
horse  did  not  stumble  at  all." 

This  is  the  key  to  the  whole  matter.  This  is 
the  way  to  make  life  fruitful  of  gratitude.  Thus 
not  only  will  deep  call  unto  deep,  but  we  shall  see 
the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord  in  the  day-time, 
and  in  the  nio;ht  his  sono;  shall  be  with  us.  When 
we  go  to  the  house  of  God,  it  will  be  with  the 
multitude,  with  the  voice  of  joy  and  praise.  Seven 
men  shall  no  longer,  in  leanness  of  soul,  lay  hold 
of  one  theme  ;  but  every  man  shall  see  the  Lord 
under  his  own  vine  and  fio;-tree,  and  his  mouth 
shall  be  filled  with  lauo^hter  and  his  tongue  with 
singing,  till  out  of  the  abundance  of  his  heart  he 
cannot  choose  but  speak. 

The  quality  of  our  moral  reflections  is  often 
defective,  as  well  as  the  quantity.  When  death 
wrenches  a  vigorous  young  soul  from  its  palpitat- 
ing body  ;  or  when  a  gray  head  lies  down  peace- 
fully in  the  grave  ;  or  when  the  little  children  go 
up  to  Jesus  from  mothers'  arms  that  would  fain 


PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS.  1 65 

press  tliem  forever  to  mothers'  hearts,  God  speaks. 
He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  But  what 
is  the  messao^e  ?  A  good  deacon  rises  in  the 
prayer-meeting  and  reminds  the  young  people  of 
the  uncertainty  of  life,  —  warns  them  that  youth 
may  be  cut  down  as  well  as  age,  —  and  exhorts 
them  to  be  prepared.  All  true  and  right,  but  not 
to  the  point ;  because  the  young  people  have  heard 
their  mothers  say  that  their  friend's  death  was  the 
result  of  a  cold  caught  by  carelessly  sitting  on  the 
door-step  with  bare  shoulders,  through  a  damp 
summer  evening,  and  they  resolve  —  that  it  is  an 
imprudent  and  dangerous  indulgence,  and  that 
they  will  avoid  it.  It  admonishes  them  less  of  the 
uncertainty  of  life,  than  of  the  danger  of  damp 
evenings.  It  was  a  mysterious  Providence  that 
smote  down  the  strong  man,  blotting  out  his  sun 
from  heaven  at  its  zenith,  and  shrouding  his 
hearth-stone  in  darkness ;  but  not  so  very  mys- 
terious to  the  strong  men  who  stand  around  his 
bier  and  remember  that  warm  August  day,  four 
weeks  ago,  when  he  went  home  tired,  heated,  and 
hungry,  ate  an  inordinate  quantity  of  heavy  food 
and  unripe  fruit,  and  drank  large  draughts  of  cold 
water,  thereby  throwing  upon  his  system  a  bur- 
den which,  in  its  exhausted  state,  it  could  not 
bear;  and  they  resolve  —  to  be  temperate.  The 
lesson  to  them  is  less  of  the  uncertainty  of  life 
than  of  the  necessity  of  prudence  and  moderation. 
^yhen  the  little  baby  lies  in  its  tiny  coffin  with 


1 66  PR^^  YER-MEETINGS. 

strange,  wan  cheeks,  and  unbabylike,  thin  hands, 
the  tender-hearted  mothers  bend  over  it  and  weep 
with  those  that  weep  ;  but  they  mentally  resolve 
not  to  keep  their  own  babies  shut  up  in  the  close 
air  of  the  nursery,  as  this  baby  was,  and  not  to 
nauseate  them  with  food  when  they  are  already 
suffering  from  surfeit.  And  the  mothers  and  the 
strong  men  and  the  young  people  are  right,  though 
the  good  deacons  are  not  wrong.  They  are  right, 
because  a  very  large  proportion  of  deaths  are  un- 
timely, and  the  lesson  which  they  ought  to  teach 
is  less  of  the  uncertainty  of  life  than  of  the  cer- 
tainty of  law,  —  the  inexorable  sequence  of  effect 
and  cause,  — the  fixedness  of  our  organization, — 
the  absolute  impossibility  of  sinning  against  our 
constitution  without  suffering  the  penalty.  This 
is  a  lesson  which  should  be  learned,  and  this  the 
time  when  hearts  are  often  most  ready  to  learn  it. 
They  have  begun  to  point  the  moral  themselves  ; 
if  their  leader  has  a  sharper  eye  and  a  stronger 
hand  than  theirs,  let  him  complete  the  work. 
Where  they  are  slow  to  learn,  let  him  be  swift  to 
teach.  But  would  it  not  be  considered  rather 
below  the  dignity  of  the  occasion  to  derive  such  a 
conclusion  from  such  an  event  ?  Is  it  below  the 
dignity  of  the  occasion  ?  Has  God,  or  has  he  not, 
given  our  health  and  our  life  in  large  measure  to 
our  own  keeping  ?  Is  it  according  to  his  eternal 
purpose  that  babies  and  young  men  and  maidens 
shall  die,  or  that  they  shall  do  the  world's  work, 


PRA  YER-MEETINGS.  ]  G7 

and  go  down  to  the  grave  like  a  shock  of  corn  in 
its  season,  fully  ripe  ?  Does  he  intend  that  we 
shall  violate  the  laws  of  our  being,  either  through 
ignorance  or  carelessness,  and  then  resign  ourselves 
piously  to  the  dispensations  of  Providence  ?  is  it 
a  dispensation  of  Providence  ?  Is  it  not  rather  a 
dispensation  of  improvidence  ? 

I  know  there  are  many  cases  where  death  comes 
prematurely  and  unaccountably,  but  there  are 
more  cases  than  we  heed  where  it  comes  prema- 
turely and  accountably ;  and  the  very  fact  that 
there  are  sorrows  which  no  foresight  can  prevent 
is  an  additional  reason  why  we  should  guard  against 
unnecessary  sorrow. 

I  know  that  the  innocent  often  suffer  from  the 
transgressions  of  the  guilty.  When  a  young  man 
dies  from  his  over-bold  deed,  his  mother,  who  would 
have  given  her  life  to  save  him,  goes  down  to  her 
grave  mourning.  When  a  reckless  engineer  drives 
his  engine  headlong  to  destruction, —  when  an  ill- 
built  factory  crumbles  to  shapeless  ruin,  —  the 
guilty  and  the  guiltless,  the  responsible  and  the 
irresponsible,  perish  in  a  common  death,  and  their 
mourneVs  go  about  the  streets.  Healing  balm  for 
their  stricken  spirits,  —  oil  and  wine,  and  tender- 
est  ministrations.  But  the  question  comes  back, 
What  is  the  whole  lesson  to  be  derived  for  all  from 
every  death  ?  And  in  each  case,  what  is  the 
-whole  lesson  to  be  derived  from  this  man's  deatli  ? 
What  is  the  moral  which  this  event  chiefly 
points  ? 


168  PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS. 

For  it  cannot  be  said  that,  even  when  death 
is  self-invoked,  prudence,  carefuhiess,  caution,  is 
the  only  lesson  taught.  Every  soul  that  parts  the 
veil  between  this  and  the  unseen  world,  no  matter 
under  what  circumstances,  lets  in  a  ray  of  light 
from  that  world,  which  our  heavy  eyes  often  fail 
to  see ;  and  wdioever  strikes  off  the  scales  so  that 
we  can  take  in  the  heavenly  vision  does  God  ser- 
vice by  bringing  heaven  to  earth. 

But  what  I  mean  is  this  :  if  there  is  a  right  and 
a  wrong  in  this  matter  ;  if  there  is  a  sm,  the  wages 
of  which  is  death  ;  that  is,  if  death  be  the  direct 
result  of  culpable  carelessness  or  ignorance,  we 
ought  not  to  let  the  lesson  which  it  directly 
teaches  go  unlearned,  and  point  out  only  the  one 
which  it  teaches  indirectly ;  we  ought  not  to 
confine  ourselves  to  one  aspect  of  the  case,  —  the 
uncertainty  of  life  and  the  certainty  of  death,  — 
and  warn  and  admonish  from  that  stand-point  only. 
When  a  man  dies,  let  us  see  whether  it  be  not  an 
admonition  for  us  to  live.  It  may  say,  "Set  thine 
house  in  order,  for  thou  shalt  die  " ;  and  it  may 
say,  "Set  thine  house  in  order  or  thou  shalt 
die." 

We  make  a  mistake.  We  do  not  appreciate 
life.  We  do  not  rise  to  the  height  of  its  dignity. 
We  exalt  death  and  degrade  life,  when  we  should 
exalt  life  and  degrade  death.  Death  is  a  penalty, 
—  "  the  mark  of  our  shame,  the  seal  of  our  sor- 
row,"—  the  deep  dishonor  of  our  race, — the  yoke 


PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS.  1 69 

under  wliicli  we  must  all  bend  our  captive  heads. 
In  death  itself,  there  can  be  nothing  noble,  for 
death  is  involuntary  and  inevitable.  Death  passes 
upon  all,  for  that  all  have  sinned.  Death  is  re- 
pulsive. It  works  woe  to  strength  and  beauty. 
It  changes  the  likeness  of  God  into  dust  and 
desolation. 

But  life  is  glorious.  Life  is  the  time  to  serve 
the  Lord.  Life  is  fruitful  of  great  deeds.  Life 
carves  the  soul  into  Divine  symmetry,  if  we  will 
but  grasp  it  nobly.  Life  is  the  battle-ground ; 
the  hosts  of  sin  are  marshalled  on  the  one  side, 
the  hosts  'of  holiness  on  the  other ;  man  can 
choose  on  which  side  he  will  serve,  and  there 
is  no  greater  victory  than  the  victory  over  sin. 
From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  life,  the  stal- 
wart arm  can  always  find  a  sturdy  foe ;  and  every 
blow  struck  is  a  blow  for  suiFering  humanity,  and 
for  the  Christ  that  died  to  redeem  it ;  and  every 
blow  struck  is  sure  to  be  successful. 

What  is  death  to  this  ?  Death  is  only  an  inci- 
dent ;  life  is  the  essence.  Death  is  passive  ;  life 
is  active.  Death  is  shrinking ;  life  is  aggressive. 
Death  is  but  for  a  moment ;  life  is  forever.  Death 
is  the  blot  of  time ;  life  is  the  radiance  of  eternity. 

When  we  talk  about  preparation  for  death,  then, 
what  do  we  mean  ?  Is  there  any  way  of  prepar- 
ing for  doath  except  living  rightly  ?  Since  death 
is  not  a  thing  to  be  done,  but  to  be  endured ;  not 
heaven,  but  the  passage   into   heaven  ;    not  the 


170  PRA  YER-MEETINGS. 

judgment,  but  an  antecedent  of  the  judgment ; 
not  even  a  putting  off,  but  a  falling  off,  —  while 
all  the  good  and  all  the  glory  are  to  be  got  from 
life,  —  shall  we  not  bend  all  our  forces  to  living? 
Since  it  is  not  a  poetic  fancy,  but  an  eternal  truth, 
that 

"  There  is  no  death,  —  what  seems  so  is  transition  " 

from  corruptible  to  incorruption,  from  mortal  to  im- 
mortality, —  shall  we  not  cry  out  with  the  tranced 
poet  and  the  rapt  Christian : 

«  O  Life,  O  Beyond, 
Thou  art  strange,  thou  art  sweet !  " 

Blessed  be  God  for  giving  us  the  boon  of  a  life 
so  flooded  with  glory  that  its  light  stretches  across 
the  very  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  to  where 
the  shining  ones  stand  on  the  other  side  to  receive 
the  eager  soul,  —  for  the  boon  of  a  life  so  heroic 
that  it  ennobles  even  death,  throwing  its  mantle 
over  that  ghastly  Terror,  and  so  wrapping  it  in 
the  folds  of  love  and  faith  and  courage  and  con- 
stancy, and  all  the  grand,  sweet  virtues  of  mar- 
tyrdom, that  men  rush  to  its  embrace  as  a  friend, 
and  Death,  disarmed  of  his  sting,  and  conquered 
by  Almighty  power, 

"  Kisses  them  into  slumbers  like  a  bride." 

"  The  present,  the  present,  is  all  thou  hast  for 
thy  sure  possessing."  We  know  that  we  can 
serve  the  Lord  to-day,  but  we  know  not  what 
shall  be  on  the  morrow.     The  possible  grave  hid- 


PR  A  YER-MEE  TINGS.  171 

den  in  its  mysterious  folds  may  be,  for  one, 
shrouded  in  thick  darkness  ;  for  another,  haloed 
with  light ;  but  to  all  it  is  indistinct.  •  This  we 
know,  that  if  we  serve  the  Lord  to-day,  whether 
by  worshipping  him  in  the  great  congregation,  or 
by  giving  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  one  of  his  little 
ones,  he  will  not  fail  us. 

Christ,  laid  hold  of  in  faith  to-day,  will  sustain 
us  In  the  overflowing  of  the  waters  to-morrow. 
Though  now,  in  the  full  flush  of  youth  and  health 
and  strength,  every  nerve  instinct  with  vitality, 
w^e  cannot  look  at  death  without  pain  and  shud- 
dering, let  us  not  fear.  Dying  grace  will  come 
with  dying.  God,  who  hath  so  loved  us,  will  not 
leave  us  then.  A  father  does  not  caress  his  child 
through  the  long  summer  day,  to  abandon  him  at 
nightfall.  Darkness  may  veil  him  from  the  little 
one's  sight,  or  slumber  lull  him  to  temporary  for- 
getfulness  ;  but  his  loving-kindness  wraps  his  child 
about  in  the  still  hours,  and  a  fatherly  presence 
is  in  the  house  for  good.  More  loving  than  this, 
an  eye  that  never  slumbers,  and  to  which  no  dark- 
ness is  a  veil,  watches  over  us  in  all  our  weary 
wanderings,  and  will  surely  not  lose  sight  of  us 
when  the  dark  river  heaves  its  cold  billows  at  our 
feet.  More  than  this,  as  a  father  precedes  his 
frightened  child  along  rocky  ways,  removing  all 
obstructions,  encouraging  him  with  friendly  words, 
and  holding  out  sustaining  arms  in  the  gloom,  so 
God  came  from  Teman,  the  Holy  One  from  Mount 


172  PRAYER-MEETIJSroX 

Paran,  and  passed  through  the  valley  of  shadows, 
wresting  from  death  his  sting,  from  the  grave  his 
victory,  making  the  crooked  places  straight,  and 
the  rough  places  plain,  that  we,  his  weak,  fearfiil, 
trembling  children,  may  come  off,  not  unharmed 
only,  but  conquerors  and  more  than  conquerors,  — 
may  have,  not  only  a  ^fe  deliverance,  but  a  tri- 
umphant entrance  into  the  city  of  our  God,  to  go 
no  more  out  forever.  O  love  of  Christ,  which 
passe-th  knowledge !  Unutterable  love,  from  which 
neither  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor  things  pres- 
ent, nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor  depth, 
nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  !  Shall  we  fear  to  trust  it  ?  Shall  we,  through 
fear  of  death,  be  all  oiir  lifetime  subject  to  bond- 
age ?  Nay,  rather  let  us  walk  joyfully  before  him 
till  the  end  come,  and  then  lie  down  as  joyfully  in 
the  arms  of  everlasting  love  ;  for  so  he  giveth  his 
beloved  sleep. 

Again,  there  are  too  many  meetings,  —  not  too 
many,  perhaps,  in  the  aggregate,  but  they  are 
not  equally  distributed,  and  there  are  too  many  in 
spots.  In  sparsely-settled  vill^es  circumstances 
may  prevent  the  evil,  but  in  many  of  our  large 
cities  gregariousness  is  rampant.  The  clergyman 
in  a  city  church  on  last  Sunday  morning  gave  out 
the  following  notices  :  "  Morning  Union  Prayer- 
meeting  every  morning  at  nine,  and  Evening 
at  five  o'clock.  Church  prayer-meeting  on  Mon- 
day evening.     Stated  prayer-meeting  on  Tuesday 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  173 

evening.     Church  meeting  on  Wednesday  even- 
ing, and  lecture  on  Thursday  evening." 

To  the  mental  vigor,  moral  power,  and  general 
effectiveness  of  the  pastor,  if  he  attends  all  or  half 
the  meetincrs,  such  a  round  of  services  must  be 
ruinous.  No  resources  can  supply  so  continuous 
a  demand.  He  must  offer  to  his  people  the  dry 
rind  of  other  men's  grapes,  instead  of  the  richness 
of  his  own  purple  vintage.  Thought  and  feel- 
ing are  wrought  up  by  palpable  endeavor  to  the 
proper  pitch,  instead  of  coming  down  by  simple 
force  of  gravity  from  a  cataractic  height  of  in- 
ward life  so  vast,  that  every  drop  of  water  weighs 
a  pound,  —  not  because  it  is  hurled  hard,  but  be- 
cause it  cannot  help  it.  Christian  individuality  is 
endangered  by  this  prevailing  tendency  to  associ- 
ation. The  type  of  character  is  less  strong,  vig- 
orous, independent,  than  it  should  be.  Religion 
is  more  conventional  and  less  personal.  It  fastens 
on  to  the  tongue,  but  does  not  strike  in.  Temp- 
tation comes  to  a  man  alone  ;  so  come  strength 
and  firmness  and  integrity.  Through  the  unex- 
plored solitudes  of  the  heart  the  whisper  of  the 
tempter  steals,  and  the  still,  small  voice  of  con- 
science speaks.  There  the  battle  is  fought  and  — 
lost  to  sin  and  shame  and  sorrow,  or  won  for  truth 
and  right  and  God  ;  and  where  the  battle-ground 
is,  there  should  the  man  be  at  home.  The  way 
to  keep  a  foe  from  a  disputed  territory  is  to  over^ 
run  it  with  your  own  armies.     If  you  would  not 


174  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

have  the  Devil  inarch  into  your  own  heart,  and 
stake  it  off  and  take  possession,  you  must  pre-empt 
the  ground  yourself  in  the  name  of  the  Most  High 
God.  Satan  is  a  great  coward.  He  dares  not 
attack  us  in  the  broad  day,  when  we  are  surround- 
ed by  the  good,  and  hedged  in  by  good  influences, 
but  he  steals  upon  our  aloneness,  —  if  it  may  be, 
unawares.  Let  him  find  that  we  have  been  there 
before  him,  —  that  Christ  is  lodged  in  every  most 
hidden  depth  of  the  soul,  and  every  remotest 
wilderness,  —  that  every  avenue  is  barred,  every 
pass  guarded,  every  barricade  bristling  with  guns, 
—  and  he  will  call  off  his  force  with  slight  attack. 
Resist  the  Devil  and  he  will  flee  from  you. 

It  is  not  in  the  woods,  surrounded  by  its  mates, 
sheltered  from  the  full  fury  of  the  storuk,  and  de- 
prived of  the  full  glory  of  the  sun,  that  the  tree 
attains  its  grandest  growth.  It  is  alone  in  the 
fields  that  its  real  might  and  majesty  are  seen  ; 
for  there  the  North  wind  sweeps  down  in  un- 
checked madness,  and  every  root  thrusts  out  its 
fibrous  fingers  in  unrelaxing  grasp  upon  the  stur- 
dy soil,  and  every  slender  twig  exerts  its  utmost 
strength  to  wrench  itself  from  the  icy  embrace. 

There  are  people  who  seem  to  find  the  one 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  insufficient.  They  can  have  no  communion 
with  God  unless  there  is  a  corporation  between 
him  and  them.  They  cannot  find  any  house  of 
God  unless  there  is  a  multitude  going  up  with 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  175 

them.  They  are  not  easy  until  they  have  all 
things  common.  They  seem  not  to  have  any,  or 
at  least  they  have  a  very  feeble,  conception  of  a 
rivulet  whose  course  can  be  marked  only  by  the 
deeper  tint  of  violets,  and  the  fresher  green  of  the 
upspringing  grass.  Unless  they  see  the  foaming, 
and  hear  the  roaring,  they  do  not  believe  there 
is  any  water  there.  By  active  piety,  they  under- 
stand a  readiness  to  take  part  in  prayer-meetings 
and  exhortations.  The  more  a  man  talks,  the  bet- 
ter and  brighter  Christian  he  is.  They  cannot 
conceive  how  any  one  who  has  tasted  and  seen 
that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  can  prefer  to  stay  at 
home  of  an  evening,  rather  than  go  to  the  chapel 
or  vestry.  They  are  omnivorous  and  voracious. 
Any  kind  of  a  meeting,  so  that  it  is  a  meeting, 
suits  them.  They  are  shy  about  waiting  upon  the 
Lord  alone.  Whenever  they  present  themselves 
to  him,  they  seem  to  want  a  retinue.  Such  piety 
is  suspicious. 

Association  is  a  very  good  thing  in  its  place, 
but  when  it  destroys  or  diminishes  the  sense  of 
personal  responsibility ;  when  it  substitutes  the 
temporary  enthusiasm  arising  from  contiguity  of 
place,  for  the  serene  and  steady  flame  of  love 
towards  God ;  when  it  hides  individual  weakness 
with  collective  strength  in  cases  where  the  former 
will,  in  the  long  run,  not  only  ruin  the  individual, 
but  the  mass,  —  then  association  is  a  very  poor 
thing,   or,   which  amounts  to   the    same,   a  good 


176  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

thing  out  of  place.  Its  evil  effects  are  contin- 
ually seen.  How  often  do  we  hear  of  Eastern 
church-members  leaving  their  homes,  settling  in 
the  West,  and  then  forgetting  their  principles, 
neglecting  their  duties,  and  living  without  God  and 
without  hope  in  the  world.  Yet  the  moral  almost 
invariably  drawn  is,  that  churches  must  be  estab-- 
lished,  and  ministers  sent  there,  in  order  to  prevent 
such  grievous  relapses,  —  which  is  a  very  different 
moral  from  what  I  should  draw.  Undoubtedly  the 
men  ought  to  go,  and  the  churches  ought  to  be 
formed  ;  but  I  do  not  infer  it  from  such  facts.  I 
infer  that  our  mode  of  operation  needs  to  be  over- 
hauled at  the  East,  rather  than  established  at  the 
West.  I  should  say  that  the  trouble  arose  from 
what  happened  before  the  man  left  his  old  home, 
rather  than  from  what  happened  after  he  reached 
the  new.  His  course  there  is  the  natural  result 
of  his  course  here.  He  withers  like  the  mown 
grass,  and  for  the  same  reason  ;  because  he  is 
severed  from  the  source  of  nourishment.  Shall 
we  not  then  supply  the  nourishment  again  ?  Not 
at  all.  Such  nourishment  is  factitious.  "  All  my 
springs  are  in  Thee  !  "  The  ordinances  of  rehg- 
ion  are  but  pipes  for  the  better  conveyance  of  the 
water  of  life  to  thirsty  souls.  He  mistook  them 
for  the  fountain  itself,  and  when  they  were  sev- 
ered, instead  of  repairing  directly  to  that,  he 
faded  as  a  leaf,  —  he  died  of  thirst. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  man  who  has  once 


PBA  YER-MEETINGS.  177 

been  born  into  grace  should  not  go  on  growing  in 
it,  —  whatever  his  circumstances  may  be.  A  man 
who  owns  a  Bible  has  the  very  best  of  facilities 
for  learnincr  God's  will,  thoucrh  he  has  not  all. 
But  the  trouble  is,  men  do  not  accustom  them- 
selves to  standing  alone  at  home,  and  consequently 
they  are  weak  in  the  knees  when  they  go  abroad. 
They  band  together,  and  sway  together,  and  hold 
each  other  doubtfully  up.  All  well  enough  if  it 
were  possible  to  stay  together  always,  and  man's 
chief  end  were  to  keep  his  feet ;  but  since  cii'- 
cumstances  necessitate  frequent  separations,  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  individual  to  attain  and 
exert  the  greatest  strength  possible  to  him,  this 
dependence  on  others  proves  to  be  poor  prepara- 
tion for  the  coming  coSntest.  It  relaxes  the  mus- 
cles that  should  be  tensely  tightened,  and  the 
nerves  that  should  be  firmly  strung.  So,  when 
the  man  goes  off  into  the  wilderness  by  himself, 
he  shivers  and  shakes  and  falls.  To  remedy  this 
defect  by  multiplying  churches,  is  like  trying  to 
strengthen  a  baby's  legs  by  tying  them  up  in 
splinters.  They  will  not  give  way  while  the  splin- 
ters are  on,  but  the  moment  the  splinters  are 
removed,  down  they  fall  as  weak  as  before.  This 
is  not  the  way  mothers  do.  They  strengthen  the 
weak  hands  and  confirm  the  feeble  knees  with 
generous  supplies  of  wholesome,  nutritious  food. 
They  teach  and  guide,  and  leave  the  little  feet  to 
totter  on  alone  at  the  risk  of  a  few  falls. 

8*  L 


178  PRAYER-MEETINGS. 

A  faith  that  lays  hold  on  God,  and  strikes 
its  roots  into  God,  and  derives  its  sustenance 
from  God,  may  be  shaken,  but  cannot  be  sun- 
dered. A  faith  that  faints  and  dies  must  have 
had  its  source  this  side  of  God,  and  needs  not  to 
be  renewed,  but  to  be  thrown  off,  to  make  room 
for  a  better.  Every  young  Christian  should  be 
trained  to  stand,  and  walk,  and  fight  alone.  Out 
of  weakness  he  should  be  made  so  strong  that  his 
single  arm  can  subdue  kingdoms,  stop  the  mouths 
of  lions,  and  turn  to  flight  the  armies  of  aliens. 
It  should  be  an  established  fact  that  a  man  is  to 
be  just  as  active  and  efficient  a  Christian  single- 
handed  in  the  midst  of  a  wicked  and  perverse 
generation,  as  if  he  stood  in  the  assemblies  of 
saints.  The  Church  militant  is  not  precisely  like 
the  World  militant ;  for  vvdiereas,  in  the  latter, 
superior  numbers  will  conquer  inferior,  in  the 
former,  one  can  chase  a  thousand,  and  two  put 
ten  thousand  to  flight,  —  and  yet  they  are,  per- 
haps, not  so  different  after  all,  for  in  both  it  is 
quality,  not  quantity,  that  wins  the  day.  A  regi- 
ment of  well-trained  soldiers  will  disperse  a  mob 
of  angry  thousands,  and  one  valiant,  able-bodied, 
well-armed  Christian  is  more  than  a  match  for  the 
snares  of  the  crowded  city  or  the  squatter's  wil- 
derness. 

I  have  no  faith  in  a  religion  that  cannot  stand 
fire.  Of  what  earthly  use  is  it,  in  a  world  where 
temptations  are  the  order  of  the  day,  where  your 


PRAYER-MEETINGS.  179 

adversary,  the  Devil,  walketh  about  like  a  roaring 
lion,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour  ?  If  a  man 
cannot  be  a  good  Christian  without  the  counte- 
nance of  associates,  he  will  not  be  much  of  a 
Christian  with.  Understand,  this  does  in  no  wise 
militate  against  the  ordinances  of  religion,  any 
more  than  Abraham  Lincoln's  present  position 
indicates  that  colleges  are  useless,  and  splitting 
rails  is  the  royal  road  to  greatness.  When  a  man 
neglects  an  opportunity  to  avail  himself  of  such 
helps  to  learning  as  a  college  affords,  the  chances 
are  ninety-nine  in  a  hundred  that  he  has  no  desire 
to  learn.  The  Church  is  the  Christian's  college. 
If  he  can,  he  will  gladly  improve  its  advantages. 
If  he  cannot,  he  will  by  no  means  sink  into  stu- 
pidity and  sloth,  but  rub  along  as  best  he  may, 
and  come  out  strong  in  the  end.  Too  many 
undergraduates  make  that  the  end  which  should 
be  the  means,  and  when  they  come  to  be  weighed 
in  the  balance,  they  are  found  wanting.  They 
have  not  strength  to  resist  unto  blood,  striving 
against  sin. 

We- shall  be  judged  singly,  and  not  in  squads. 
The  Church  and  the  World  must  appear  before 
God  by  individuals,  and  every  man  give  an  ac- 
count of  himself.  If  thou  art  wise,  thou  art  wise 
for  thyself.  If  thou  scomest,  thou  alone  shalt 
bear  it. 


VII. 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE, 


HE  ministry  of  the  word  at  the  present 
clay,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  prayer-meet- 
ing, in  private  conversation,  and  in 
%  our  rehgious  hterature,  fails  to  make 
all  the  impression  of  which  the  truth  is  capable, — 
fails  to  bring  men  up  to  the  mark  for'the  prize  of 
their  high  calling,  —  fails  to  v^aeld  most  effectively 
the  two-edged  sword  of  Divine  power,  —  nay, 
sometimes  blunts  its  edge  and  destroys  its  temper, 
because  of  the  subjectivity  to  w^hich  it  appeals  for 
tests  of  Christian  character.  "  Am  I,  are  you,  is 
he,  a  Christian  ?  "  is  the  anxious  question  that 
arises  in  every  hoping,  trembling,  awakened 
heart,  —  hoping  and  trembling  for  itself  or  for 
the  weal  of  some  dearer  life  than  its  own.  How 
shall  an  answer  be  obtained  ?  How  ^s  it  ob- 
tained ?  The  inquirer  is  urged  to  observe  the 
state  of  his  mind  as  to  the  plan  of  salvation,  —  his 
views  of  his  character  in  the  sight  of  God,  —  his 


THE  PROOF   OF   YOUR  LOVE.  181 

clear  exercise  of  faith  in  Christ,  —  his  sense  of 
pardon  and  acceptance,  —  his  reception  of  Christ 
as  the  only  redemption,  etc.,  —  all  orthodox  and 
therefore  unobjectionable,  —  all  subjective,  and 
therefore,  in  a  measure,  useless  ;  for  the  weak- 
ness of  man  is  that  he  can  in  no  wise  thread 
the  labyrinth  of  his  own  mind  ;  and  the  misery 
of  man  is  that,  though  his  heart  is  deceitful  and 
desperately  wicked,  all  the  light  that  travels  to 
his  soul  must  pass  through  it.  Even  if  we  could 
take  out  of  man  all  his  sin,  whether  original  or 
acquired,  —  leaving  him  just  as  he  is,  only  pure, 
—  still  he  would  be  ignorant  of  the  workings  of 
his  own  mind.  He  would  know  effects,  but 
would  be  little  skilled  in  causes.  The  how  and 
the  why  and  the  wherefore  would  be,  for  the 
greater  part,  h  sealed  book  to  him.  How  much 
more,  when  the  heart  has  become  warped  and 
clouded  and  untuned  by  sin,  so  that  when  we 
demand  just  judgment,  we  receive  the  verdict 
of  prejudice  and  inclination  and  passion  ;  when 
we  look  through  it,  we  see  but  dimly ;  when  we 
strike  it,  it  gives  an  uncertain  sound. 

How  many  of  us  know  from  what  our  ideas  are 
derived,  whence  our  conclusions  are  drawn,  or 
whither  our  opinions  tend  ?  I  am  brave :  is  it 
because  I  came  of  a  race  of  mountaineers,  or  be- 
cause I  have  never  been  in  circumstances  of  real 
danger,  or  because  I  am  surrounded  by  ample 
protection,  or  because  I  have  never  met  the  pre- 


182  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

cise  object  suited  to  call  forth  my  peculiar  latent 
cowardice  ?  I  am  moved  to  indignation  by  the 
corruption  that  pervades  our  land ;  is  it  the  innate 
nobility  of  my  soul,  or  the  Puritan  church  spire 
whose  shadow  fell  athwart  the  path  of  my  young 
years,  or  a  sordid,  fixed,  yet  perhaps  vague  con- 
viction, that,  in  the  long  run,  honesty  is  the  best 
policy,  or  the  dull  delight  of  a  half-unconscious 
revenge  for  the  disappointment  of  my  youthful 
hopes  of  political  prominence,  —  any  or  all  of 
these  ?  The  emotion  in  a  man's  mind  may  be 
love  to  God  and  repentance  unto  salvation,  or  it 
may  be  the  influence  of  an  earnest,  faithful,  be- 
loved minister's  mind  upon  his  own,  or  it  may  be 
that  his  heart,  softened  by  the  tears  of  some  recent 
affliction,  can  more  readily  receive  the  impress  of 
the  Saviour's  footsteps,  or  it  may  be  the  magnetism 
of  cognate  life,  or  it  may  be  all  combined.  The 
workings  of  the  mind  are,  from  its  very  nature, 
complex  and  hard  to  be  understood ;  but  when  the 
element  of  sin  is  thrown  into  the  calculation,  who 
can  make  the  crooked  paths  straight  and  the  rough 
places  plain  ?  "Is  thy  servant  a  dog  that  he 
should  do  this  thing?"  cried  the  astonished  and 
indignant  Hazael :  for  looking  into  his  own  heart 
he  did  not  see  ambition,  avarice,  tyranny,  oppres- 
sion, cruelty,  treachery,  murder,  —  couchant  \\or\s 
in  covert  lairs,  biding  their  time  ;  yet  they  were 
there,  and  the  prophet's  eye,  divinely  keen,  pen- 
etrated  their  lurking-places,    and  an  hour  came 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  183 

when  they  rose  in  their  strength  and  wrought  a 
fell  work. 

Deeply  and  sadly  impressed  with  the  deceitful- 
ness  of  this  uncertain  heart,  another  prophet  cries 
out,  "  Who  shall  know  it  ?  "  and  from  the  heaven 
of  heavens  comes  the  calm  response,  "  I  the  Lord 
search  the  heart,"  —  implying,  as  plainly  as  words 
can  imply  anything,  that  only  the  Lord  is  sufficient 
for  these  things.  Yet,  be  it  remembered,  through 
this  abyss  of  wickedness  which  no  line  of  ours  can 
fathom,  must  the  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness shine  upon  us.  Surely,  then,  it  cannot  be 
wise  to  trust  so  largely  to  its  representations.  It 
cannot  be  wise  to  make  so  much  account  of  the 
interpretations  of  an  organ  which  has  so  often 
played  us  false  that  it  has,  in  a  measure,  lost  the 
power  of  truth-telling,  —  nay,  even  of  discerning 
between  truth  and  falsehood ;  for  it  is  not  only  a 
deceiving,  but  a  deceived  heart,  that  turns  us  aside 
so  that  we  cannot  deliver  our  souls,  or  say  whether 
or  not  there  is  a  lie  in  our  rio-ht  hands. 

Real  self-examination  being,  then,  so  difficult  — 
not  to  say  impossible  —  for  many,  for  most  peo- 
ple, that  they  can  make  little  headway  in  it, 
a  great  deal  of  the  advice  which  inculcates  it 
must  be  misplaced  and  injudicious.  The  self- 
examination  which  does  amount  to  anything  is 
generally  incidental  and  involuntary.  Ordinari- 
ly, set  a  man  down  to  put  himself,  in  cold  blood, 
through  a  course  of  self-examination,  and  he  is  out 


184  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR   LOVE. 

at  sea  without  compass  or  star  or  sun.  His 
thoughts  go  flying  off  in  a  tangent  towards  all 
quarters  of  the  globe.  The  last  thing  in  the 
world  that  he  can  concentrate  himself  on,  is  him- 
self. Some  are  conscious  of  this  ;  some  are  not ; 
but  that  does  not  affect  the  result.  A  boy  sincerely 
believes  that  he  has  been  studying  his  lesson,  when 
he  has  only  been  poring  over  his  book  ;  but  his 
lesson  is  no  more  learned  than  if  he  knew  he  had 
been  idling  all  the  while. 

Frames  of  mind,  by  which  we  set  so  much  store 
in  making  up  an  inventory  of  Christian  posses- 
sions, are  comparatively  of  small  value.  A  large 
proportion  of  the  copious  extracts  from  private 
diaries,  which  enter  so  largely  into  our  religious 
memoirs,  are  not  only  tiresome  and  useless,  but 
positively  pernicious.  As  a  general  thing,  they 
would  better  never  have  been  written ;  but  to  dra^ 
them  into  print  is  a  harm  to  the  world.  Morbid 
anatomists  may  find  pleasure  in  it,  and  nerveless 
organisms  may  feel  no  pain ;  but  a  healthy,  sensi- 
tive soul  can  be  only  shocked.  They  prove  noth- 
ing, —  nothing,  at  least,  which  they  were  designed 
to  prove  ;  for  frames  of  mind  are  largely  dependenll^ 
on  frames  of  body.  Given  a  feeling  of  desponden- 
cy ;  it  may  be  a  sense  of  sin  that  overwhelms  the 
soul,  or  it  may  be  the  dyspepsia.  Digestion  is  a 
great  aid  to  devotion.  Serenity  is  tlie  natural 
concomitant  of  a  well-ordered  dinner ;  while  a 
man  who  is  suffering  the  horrors  of  clammy  bread, 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE,  185 

or  an  unmasticated  dumpling,  or  a  midnight  mince- 
pie,  can  hardly  help  viewing  himself  as  altogether 
vile,  —  and  will  not  be  far  out  of  the  way,  either. 
If  we  feel  called  upon  to  w^-ite  out  in  our  journals 
a  description  of  our  raptures  and  our  despondencies, 
we  should  prefix  to  every  one  the  bill  of  fare  for 
the  day,  the  hour  of  rising  and  retiring,  the  amount 
and  quality  of  exercise  taken  and  w^ork  performed. 
Thus  the  recital  may  be  of  service  to  physiology, 
and,  since  physiology,  like  every  other  true  science, 
is  the  handmaid  of  religion,  —  to  religion.  This 
is  not,  as  some  seem  to  suppose,  making  religion 
wait  upon  the  appetite,  degrading  it  into  a  mere 
camp-follower  of  the  stomach,  and  projecting  into 
our  theology  a  gross  materialism.  It  is,  on  the 
contrary,  a  thrusting  back  of  the  material,  which 
is  always  insolently  attempting  to  encroach  upon 
the  spiritual.  It  is  branding  the  criminal,  that  all 
men  may  see  and  shun  him,  or  defend  themselves 
against  him.  It  is  the  soul  saying  to  the  body : 
"  Hitherto  you  have  rioted  w^ith  impunity,  but  you 
shall  go  no  further.  You  have  masked  your  evil 
deeds  under  a  penitential  sorrow,  and,  through 
ignorance  or  negligence,  you  have  escaped  scot- 
free.  You  have  indulged  your  inclinations,  and  I 
have  paid  the  penalty.  You  have  run  up  the 
score,  and  I  have  footed  the  bills.  Now  we  will 
have  a  settlement  and  a  readjustment.  I  w^ill 
condescend  to  your  weaknesses,  but  I  w^ill  not  be 
responsible  for  them.     They  must  be  my  sorrow. 


186  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

but  they  shall  not  be  my  sin,  —  least  of  all,  my 
glory." 

Such  transcripts  are,  I  think,  injurious  for  two 
reasons ;  first,  they  emit  a  flavor  of  vanity  and 
hypocrisy.  If  it  was  a  strictly  private  diary,  its 
privacy  should  still  be  respected.  If  it  was  not 
strictly  private,  its  value  as  a  faithful  transcriber — 
which  is  its  sole  value  —  is  gone.  Secondly,  they 
often  raise  a  false  standard.  They  are  apt  to  be  held 
up  for  our  example,  and  young  people  are  taught 
to  believe  that  they  ought  to  have  a  similar  expe- 
rience. The  probability  is  that  they  ought  to  have 
no  such  thing.  One  man's  feelings  are  no  sort 
of  criterion  for  another  man's  feelings.  Hold  up 
God  in  his  thousand-fold  manifestations,  and  duty 
in  its  thousand  forms,  and  let  every  man  originate 
his  own  feelino;s.  Love  to  God  and  faith  in  Christ 
are  called  forth  by  something  outside  of  us,  not 
by  anything  within  us.  Looking  unto  Jesus,  not 
looking  unto  ourselves,  is  the  true  way  to  grow  in 
grace. 

Plant  divine  truth,  loosen  the  soil  around  it, 
water  it,  and  weed  it,  and  let  it  alone.  Do  not  be 
continually  digging  up  the  seed  to  see  if  it  has 
sprouted. 

It  was  human  weakness  endowed  with  heavenly 
wisdom  that  cried,  "  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know 
my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts,  and 
see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead 
me  in  the  way  everlasting." 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  187 

In  morals  —  in  anything  except  mathematics  — 
there  can  be  no  mathematical  certainty.  The  full 
assurance  of  faith  is  —  the  full  assurance  of  faith^ 
not  of  positive,  demonstrable  knowledge  ;  and  faith 
is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for^  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen. 

It  is  said  that,  outside  of  mathematics,  every 
statement  is  but  the  balance  of  probabilities.  If 
this  is  true  of  matter,  cognizable  by  the  senses  and 
with  balances  external  to  us  so  that  we  can  exam- 
ine them,  how  much  more  is  it  true  of  mind, 
wherein  is  no  lens  to  annihilate  distance  or  to 
magnify  minuteness.  The  mind's  eye  unassisted 
must  examine  the  whole.  "With  naked  arms  we 
go  down  into  the  soul's  arena  to  wrestle  with  her 
concerning  fate.  Vaguely  we  question  her  of  her 
conditions. 

To  ask  a  sick  man  what  is  the  matter  with  him, 
and  to  rely  upon  his  answer,  would  be  the  stupid- 
ity of  a  quack.  The  man  of  science  questions  him 
of  his  symptoms,  it  is  true,  and  the  patient  de- 
scribes them  with  what  accuracy  he  may.  Some- 
times clearly,  sometimes  perforce  obscurely  ;  but 
in  all  cases  the  object  is  that  he,  the  doctor,  may 
judge,  from  the  patient's  feelings  and  from  his  own 
observations,  what  the  real  state  of  the  case  is ;  he 
knows  that  certain  sensations  which  the  sick  man 
describes  refer  to  sources  of  which  the  sufferer  is 
ignorant.  But  in  all  spiritual  diseases  the  sick 
man   is   his   own  physician.      No   man,  no   being 


188  THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

save  the  Omniscient,  knows  the  motives  of  his 
conduct,  the  conditions  under  which  these  motives 
became  his,  the  particular  points,  in  short,  which 
make  him  different  from  other  men. 

And  still  the  question  remains  unanswered.  Still 
the 

" point  I  long  to  know,  — 

Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought,  — 
Do  I  love  the  Lord  or  no  1 
Am  I  his  or  am  I  not  1  " 

And  still  it  will  remain  unanswered  till  we  look  for 
it  in  the  direction  of  "  how  do  I  live  ?  "  as  well  as, 
and  rather  than,  in  the  direction  of  "  how  do  I 
feel  ?  " 

Men  grope  for  something  tangible.  Reaching 
out  after  their  feelings  while  their  feelings  elude 
their  grasp,  or  yield  only  to  mislead  and  deceive, 
longing  for  a  real  consciousness,  a  full  assurance, 
which  they  do  not  find  because  the  test  of  charac- 
ter does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  their  certain 
knowledge  of  themselves,  they  set  up  other  tests. 
The  minister  says,  truly,  Scripturally,  and  often 
eloquently :  "  You  must  repent  of  your  sins,  and 
forsake  them.  You  must  take  up  the  cross  and 
follow  Christ.  You  must  deny  all  ungodliness, 
and  every  worldly  lust,  and  live  soberly,  right- 
eously, and  godly.  You  must  fear  God  and  keep 
his  commandments,  and  walk  circumspectly  before 
him."  And  the  weary,  heavy-laden,  sin-sick  heart 
says  :  ''  Yes,  I  will  do  all  this.  I  will  repent  of  my 
sins  and  turn  to  Jesus.     I  will  take  up  my  cross 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  189 

and  join  the  church.  I  will  be  baptized  bj  the 
minister,  or  confirmed  by  the  bishop.  I  will  go 
to  church,  to  the  Sabbath  school,  to  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  the  conference.  I  will  take  part 
whenever  I  am  called  upon.  I  will  speak  to  the 
unconverted,  warning  them  of  their  danger,  and 
trying  to  lead  them  to  Jesus.  I  will  maintain 
family  and  private  prayer."  All  right  things  to 
do,  only  they  are  not  Christianity,  but  a  part  of  it. 
Unless  complemented  by  other  weights,  we  have 
a  false  balance,  which  is  an  abomination  to  the 
Lord. 

To  preach  the  Gospel  is,  as  I  understand  it,  first 
to  explain  it,  secondly  to  enforce  its  obligations. 
The  first  is  theology  theoretical ;  the  second  is 
theology  practical.  They  dovetail  into  each  other. 
The  first  without  the  second  is  useless ;  the  sec- 
ond without  the  first  is  inconsequent,  —  besides 
being  weary,  stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable.  They 
react  upon  each  other.  The  first  makes  the  sec- 
ond intelhgent ;  the  second  info?rms  the  first  with 
vitality.  The  first  alone  is  a  dead  faith  ;  the  sec- 
ond alone  is  a  dead  morality,  —  both  fit  only  to  be 
cast  out  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  An 
enlightened  brain  will  regulate  the  heart,  and  a 
devout  heart  will  interpret  many  hard  sayings  to 
the  baffled  brain.  Seeking  to  learn  God  is  grander 
than  the  possession  of  all  other  knowledge  ;  and 
there  is  no  commentary  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures 
like  a  holy  life. 


190  THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

Now  when  the  obh'gatlons  of  the  Gospel  are  en- 
forced, -I  would  have  the  tests  of  character  brought 
down  into  the  pews,  scattered  along  the  benches  of 
the  chapel,  disseminated  through  memoirs  and  all 
religious  literature,  in  a  manner  that  can  be  com- 
prehended and  applied  by  learned  and  unlearn- 
ed, and  which  learned  and  unlearned  alike  need. 
Thus  :  "Which  of  you  who  profess  to  be  Christ's 
disciples  has  this  day,  for  his  sake,  manifested  or 
felt  any  interest  in  his  little  ones  ?  Which  of  you, 
for  the  welfare  or  happiness  of  any  human  being, 
or  of  any  creature  dependent  on  your  care  and 
tenderness,  or  coming  into  any  sort  of  relation  with 
you,  has  made  —  or  has  entertained  the  wish  or 
design,  if  opportunity  offered,  to  make  —  any 
sacrifice  of  time,  inclination,  money,  or  courtesy  ? 

If  you  wish  to  know  whether  you  are  a  Chris- 
tian, inquire  of  yourself  whether,  in  and  for  the 
love  of  God,  you  seek  to  make  happy  those  about 
you  by  smiles  and  pleasant  sayings  ?  Is  it  a  matter 
of  concernment,  when  you  sit  down  to  your  break- 
fast, to  say  a  bright  word  of  sympathy  or  endear- 
ment or  playfulness  or  cheer  to  your  wife,  your 
son,  your  daughter?  Do  you  give  Tommy  a  pre- 
liminary toss  as  you  place  him  in  his  high  chair, 
or  do  you  praise  Kitty's  first  awkward  attempt  to 
smooth  her  own  hair  ?  Do  you  notice  the  little 
arrangements  that  have  been  made  for  your  com- 
fort and  convenience  ?  Do  you  compliment  the 
cook  on  the  nice  coffee,  or  the  light  buckwheat 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR   LOVE.  191 

cakes,  or  the  beautifully  brown  toast  which  she  sets 
before  you,  —  particularly  if  the  cook  bea$;s  your 
own  name  ?  When  the  cat  puts  up  her  soft  paw 
to  remind  you  that  she  is  there,  does  your  hand 
slide  down  to  rub  her  fur,  and  thus  make  her  hap- 
pier for  your  thought  of  her,  —  or,  if  a  law  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  forbids  her  the  dining-room, 
do  you  throw  her  a  bit  of  bread  to  console  her  ex- 
ile ?  Is  the  faithful  dog  rewarded  by  his  share, 
not  only  of  food,  but  of  favoritism  ?  If  you  have 
yourself  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  cats  and 
dogs,  do  you  still  see  to  it  that  their  lives  are  not 
a  burden  to  them  ?  If  you  meet  a  child  crying  in 
the  street,  do  you  endeavor  to  console  him  ?  Do 
you  ever  buy  a  penny's  worth  of  candy  for  the 
ragged  boy  who  is  looking  at  it  with  eager  eyes 
through  the  shop-window  on  Christmas  eve  ?  Do 
you  take  pains  now  and  then  to  speak  a  cheery 
word  to  the  widow  whose  only  son  has  gone  on  a 
long  sea- voyage  ?  As  your  sons  and  daughters  ap- 
proach maturity,  does  their  obedience  and  affection 
increase  or  diminish  ?  Do  they  go  out  from  your 
house  as  from  a  prison  or  from  a  home,  —  with 
eacrer  feet  indeed,  but  with  a  tender  linQ-erino;  at 

o  '  OCT 

the  last  ?  When  you  come  into  the  house,  do  you 
bring  sunshine  with  you  ?  If  there  is  a  cloud  on 
your  brow,  do  your  family  seem  more  anxious  to 
dissipate  it,  or  to  get  out  of  your  way  ?  If  your 
sons  see  you  on  the  other  side  of  the  street,  do  they 
run  over  to  join  you,  or  do  they  turn  down  an  alle^ 


192  THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

to  avoid  you,  or  keep  on  their  own  side  till  they 
are  obliged  to  cross  ?  Do  the  clerks  in  your  ware- 
house, the  carpenters  who  are  building  your  house, 
the  Irishmen  who  are  laying  your  pipes,  the  plough- 
nsan  who  is  furrowing  your  land,  the  gardener  who 
is  pruning  your  trees,  like  to  have  you  pass  by,  for 
the  pleasantness  of  your  manner  in  commending 
their  labor,  or  the  courteousness  with  which  you 
listen  to  their  complaints  or  requests,  or  the  quiet 
consideration  with  which  you  suggest  alterations 
and  improvements  ?  Do  mothers  like  to  have 
their  sons  work  on  your  farm  during  the  summer 
months,  and  do  the  boys  like  to  come  ?  In  short, 
are  you  a  comfortably  person  to  live  with  ?  Are 
you  pleasant  to  have  about  ? 

We  often  have  In  the  columns  of  religious  news- 
papers sketches  of  eminent  Christians.  I  read  one 
lately  of  a  farmer's  wife  who  used  to  delight  in 
prayer-meetings,  celebrated  her  children's  birth- 
days by  prayer,  and  spent  whole  days  in  praying. 
All  these  are  favorable  signs,  but  before  I  pro- 
nounce her  an  eminent  Christian,  I  should  like 
to  know  whether,  previous  to  her  withdrawal  from 
the  family  circle  to  pray  all  day,  she  made  any 
provision  for  the  extra  la^bor  that  her  absence 
would  devolve  on  others,  or  whether  Bridget  had 
to  skim  the  milk  and  wash  the  pans,  besides  her 
cooking,  sweeping,  and  dusting,  or  whether  the 
work  was  let  go  till  the  next  day ;  and  if  so, 
whether  the  next  day  went  smoothly.     I  should 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE.  193 

like  to  know  whether,  when  a  Httle  restless,  chub- 
by hand  upset  the  gravy-boat  on  the  clean  table- 
cloth, she  bound  herself  over  to  keep  the  peace, — 
whether  in  her  house  cleanliness  was  made  sub- 
servient to  comfort,  or  comfort  to  cleanliness,  — 
whether  she  ever  laid  down  her  sewing  and  took 
into  her  arms  the  half-sick  and  wholly  cross,  fret- 
ful, and  miserable  four-year-old  boy,  to  charm 
away  his  unhaj)piness  with  a  fairy  story,  or  any 
kind  of  story,  or  song,  or  simple  talk,  —  whether 
she  gave  her  heretical  neighbor  credit  for  as  much 
candor,  sincerity,  truthfulness,  earnestness,  and 
unselfishness  in  his  religion  as  he  developed  and 
she  recognized  in  his  character  of  citizen,  neighbor, 
and  father,  —  wdiether  the  delicious  green-pea  soup 
that  she  sent  in  to  the  sick  woman  next  door  was 
the  result  of  an  extra  amount  made  for  the  pur- 
pose, or  whether  the  Irish  girl  dined  per  force, 
that  day,  off  cold  boiled  pork  and  potatoes,  — 
whether  she  was  generally  ready  to  step  into  the 
wagon  when  it  came  to  the  door  on  Sunday  morn- 
ings, or  whether  she  provoked  her  husband  to 
wrath  by  keeping  them  all  waiting. 

"  The  world  is  wide,  these  things  are  small." 

But  it  was  a  pebble's  edge  that  ordained  the 
course  of  two  mighty  rivers,  — 

"  One  to  long  darkness  and  the  frozen  tide, 
One  to  the  Peaceful  Sea." 

The  trouble  is,  that,  when  you  present  things  in 

9  M 


194     THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

this  light,  so  many  people  look  upon  it  as  a  sabsti- 
tution  of  morality  for  religion,  —  works  for  faith. 
It  is  nothing  of  the  sort.  It  is  bringing  one  along- 
side the  other,  in  which  position  only  are  they  of 
any  use  in  the  world.  The  black  knight  swore 
that  the  shield  was  gold  ;  the  white  knight  as 
stoutly  maintained  that  it  was  silver  ;  but  they 
shivered  their  lances  for  a  half-truth,  —  for  it  was 
gold  on  one  side  and  silver  on  the  other.  It  is  true 
that  mere  morality  does  not  make  a  perfect  man,  for 
we  are  justified  by  faith ;  but  wilt  thou  not  also 
know,  O  vain  man,  that  faith  without  works  is  dead, 
and,  of  the  two,  by  far  the  worse  off?  for  good 
works  may  benefit  others,  though  they  have  no 
beneficial  reflex  influence,  but  a  dead  faith  cheer- 
eth  the  heart  of  neither  God  nor  man.  Faith  and 
works  are  like  the  two  blades  of  a  pair  of  scissors. 
They  must  be  riveted  together  in  order  to  accom- 
plish anything  for  their  possessor.  Separated,  one 
is  worth  as  much  as  the  other,  —  both  good  for 
nothing.  Truth  is  many-sided,  though  always  in- 
tegral. God  alone  can  see  its  sublime  integrity, — 
we  contemplate  it  in  phases.  From  too  long  gaz- 
ing on  one,  we  forget  another,  and  our  religion 
becomes  one-sided.  "  Just  as  if  works  were  any- 
thing !  "  a  young  girl  was  overheard  to  say,  coming 
out  of  a  prayer-meeting.  "  Just  as  if  ploughing 
and  hoeing  and  planting  and  weeding  are  any- 
thing !  "  the  farmer  might  as  well  say ;  "  it  is  rain 
from  heaven  and  dew  and  sunshine  that  I  want." 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE.  195 

Very  true,  but  rain  and  dew  and  sunshine  may- 
fall  on  the  plain  a  thousand  years,  and  never  once 
shall  his  fields  wave  their  silken  tassels  to  the 
breeze,  or  his  barns  overflow  with  garnered  grain. 
The  sunshine  floods  in  vain  the  soil  that  is  not  pre- 
pared to  receive  it.  No  rain  can  germinate  the 
seed  that  has  never  been  planted.  That  the  one 
is  vain  without  the  other,  is  no  truer  than  that  the 
other  is  vain  without  the  one.  Paul  presented 
one  side  of  the  shield  to  the  Roman  disciples,  and 
they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  other,  —  wresting  his 
words  to  their  own  destruction.  But  James,  just 
as  truly  inspired  as  Paul,  held  up  to  view  the  side 
which  they  ignored,  and,  with  a  sturdy  common 
sense  that  scarcely  needed  any  higher  wisdom, 
rounded  their  theory  to  completion.  "  What  doth 
it  profit,  my  brethren,  though  a  man  say  he  hath 
faith,  and  have  not  works  ?  can  faith  save  him  ? 
If  a  brother  or  sister  be  naked,  and  destitute  of 
daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart 
in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ;  notwithstand- 
ing ye  give  them  not  those  things  which  are  need- 
ful to  the  body  ;  what  doth  it  profit  ?  Even  so 
faith,  if  it  hath  not  works,  is  dead,  being  alone. 
Yea,  a  man  may  say.  Thou  hast  faith,  and  I  have 
works  ;  show  me  thy  faith  without  thy  works,  and 

I  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works By 

works  was  faith  made  perfect By  works  a 

man  is  justified,  and  not  by  faith  only."  *'  Be- 
lieve in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  ^halt  be 


196  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

saved,"  said  Paul,  presenting  that  phase  of  the 
truth  that  was  best  fitted  to  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed. "  The  devils  also  believe  and  tremble," 
follows  up  James,  throwing  himself  once  more 
into  the  breach,  aEid  driving  back  the  formalism, 
selfishness,  and  malice  that  would  march  under 
the  banner  of  Paul's  succinct  words. 

So  the  Bible  balances  itself,  —  repentance  unto 
salvation  bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance. 
It  is  ours  to  keep  the  balance  true,  but  we  do  not 
do  it.  I  cannot,  of  course,  speak  of  the  Church 
as  a  whole,  but,  so  far  as  it  has  fallen  under  my 
observation,  I  should  say  that  its  religion  was 
ahead  of  its  morality,  —  that  church-members,  as 
a  class,  perform  their  distinctively  religious  duties 
better  than  the  duties  which  are  not  distinctively 
religious ;  while  it  seems  to  me  to  be  of  the  first 
importance  that  the  morality  of  the  Church  should 
keep  pace  with  its  religion,  —  that  its  duties  in 
the  world,  as  citizens  —  merchants,  farmers,  law- 
yers, mechanics  —  should  be  as  scrupulously  per- 
formed as  its  duties  to  itself.  If  the  Church  were 
true  to  her  divine  calling,  the  gates  of  hell  should 
not  prevail  against  her.  It  is  because  she  is  false 
to  her  trust  that  her  chariot-wheels  drive  heavily. 

Every  now  and  then,  some  sharp-sighted,  keen- 
scented  hound  sniffs  a  heresy,  and  anon  the  hunts- 
man puts  the  bugle  to  his  lips,  and  all  the  faithful 
are  summoned  to  hunt  down  the  game  ;  but  as  I 
read  history  I  find  that  in  every  age  the  world  has 


TUh  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  197 

been  growing  heretical,  and  that,  while  some  of  its 
heresies  were  heresies  indeed,  others  have  been  the 
peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness,  so  that  the  cry- 
has  ceased  to  inspire  terror.  The  name  is  no  long- 
er formidable.  The  manner  in  which  Paul  wor- 
shipped the  God  of  his  fathers  was  heresy  to  the 
tithe-paying,  stiff-necked,  hard-hearted  Jews,  and 
Tertullus,  arraigning  him  before  Felix,  with  self- 
complacent  eloquence  could  find  no  meeter  charac- 
terization than  that  ''pestilent  fellow,"  the  "ring- 
leader of  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes."  To  the 
pampered  ecclesiastics  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  right  of  private  judgment  was  a  most  damnable 
heresy  ;  and  even  Sir  Thomas  More,  a  man  of 
clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  who  himself  dared 
to  die  for  a  principle,  could  earnestly  advocate  that 
Tyndale  be  burnt  at  the  stake  for  the  well-being 
of  Christ  and  the  Church.  For  eighteen  hundred 
years,  the  Devil  has  been  crying  "Wolf!"  and 
there  have  never  been  found  wanting  a  great  mul- 
titude of  foolish,  and  a  small  sprinkling  of  wise 
men,  who,  untaught  by  the  past,  would  leave  their 
pleasant  firesides  and  rush  pell-mell  to  the  rescue ; 
but  when  the  confusion  is  over,  and  we  come  at 
length  to  the  conclusion  that  we  have  been  im- 
posed upon,  and  that  the  death-dealing  wolf  was 
nothing  but  a  harmless  little  ewe-lamb,  and  return, 
somewhat  crestfallen,  to  our  homes,  we  find  that 
our  crests  must  fall  lower  yet,  —  that  we  are  the 
victims  of  a  double  deception,  —  that   while  we 


198  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

were  flourishing  our  shillalahs,  and  wrenching  our 
arms  with  random  blows,  right  and  left,  at  nothing, 
Satan  has  walked  in  at  the  back  door,  and  helped 
himself,  —  helped  himself  to  our  probity,  our  cour- 
tesy, our  self-command,  our  uprightness  and  honor 
and  manhood. 

Brethren,  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.  "We 
have  been  stunned  long  enough  with  the  cry  of 
'  Gospel,  Gospel ! '  we  want  Gospel  manners,"  — 
and  what  Erasmus  wanted,  we  want  to-day.  Half 
of  the  heresies  would  die  out  of  themselves,  if  let 
alone,  and  a  holy  life  is  the  best  bulwark  against 
them  all.  The  worst  heresies  that  I  know  of — 
those  that  lay  hold  of  the  strength  of  the  Church, 
that  tie  her  hands,  and  paralyze  her  tongue,  and 
poison  her  atmosphere  —  are  lying  and  stealing 
and  avarice  and  selfishness.  It  is  they  which  eat 
out  the  heart  of  Christianity,  making  that  which 
should  be  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  wherein  all  who 
desire  to  behold  his  beauty  shall  inquire,  a  sepul- 
chre full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all  uncleanness. 

Of  a  surety  the  Church  has  a  work  to  do,  and 
how  shall  she  be  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished ! 
All  who  hinder  the  completion  of  the  work,  all 
who  weaken  the  power  of  the  Church,  are  fight- 
ing against  God.  But  the  weakeners  of  her 
power  are  from  within,  not  from  without.  She 
gets  a  few  pricks  and  scratches  from  her  foes, 
but  she  receives  her  severest  wounds  in  the  house 
of  her  friends.       Freedom  and    slavery,    activity 


THh   PROOF  OF  YOJR  LOVE.  199 

and  stagnation,  the  Bible  and  priestcraft,  drew 
their  swords  on  the  soil  of  Spain  three  hun- 
dred years  ago ;  kingly  power  and  monkish  des- 
potism combined  to  crush  out  the  young  truth 
with  a  success  to  which  three  centuries  of  degra- 
dation bear  sorrowful  witness.  But  it  is  not  so 
with  us.  Our  fathers  fought  the  battle,  and  won 
the  victory,  before  we  were  born,  and  we  enter 
into  their  labors.  Now,  the  Church  has  only  to 
arise  and  shine.  The  puny  adversaries  that  attack 
her  now  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the 
giants  that  were  on  the  earth  in  those  days.  If 
she  had  on  the  whole  armor  of  God,  all  the  isms 
that  hurtle  against  her  would  make  no  more  im- 
pression than  a  child's  dimpled  fingers  on  the 
granite  shaft  of  Bunker  Hill.  She  herself  fur- 
nishes her  enemies  with  their  most  effective  weap- 
ons. The  batterino;-rams  of  Satan  would  thunder 
at  her  gates  in  vain,  if  traitors  within  did  not  sap 
the  walls.  She  would  not  only  hold  her  own,  but 
she  would  carry  the  war  into  the  enemy's  camp,  — 
aggressive,  energetic,  victorious,  —  if  her  rank  and 
file  were  trusty.  If  you  believe  Unitarianism  or 
Parkerism  or  Spiritualism  to  be  not  of  God,  show 
by  your  purer  and  more  benevolent  life,  by  your 
greater  truthfulness,  your  sweeter  temper,  your 
larger  charity,  and  your  stricter  honesty,  that  the 
word  of  God  has  freer  course  to  run  and  be  glori- 
fied in  your  creed  than  in  the  other.  You  may  be 
slow  of  speech    and   slow   of  tongue,  but  nothing 


200  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

can  withstand  the  logic  of  a  manly,  blameless,  be- 
neficent life.  Heresies  can  be  lived  down  a  thou- 
sand times  more  effectually  than  they  can  be 
hunted  down.  Let  every  one  be  able  to  give  a 
reason  for  the  hope  that  is  in  him,  and  then  let 
him  show  out  of  a  good  conversation  his  works 
with  meekness  of  wisdom. 

It  cannot  be  too  deeply  impressed  on  our  minds 
that  it  is  the  good  people  that  do  the  mischief.  If 
villany  could  only  be  confined  to  villains,  we  should 
not  find  it  so  hard  to  set  the  world  right.  When 
a  highway  robber  plunders  a  man,  or  a  notorious 
liar  tells  a  lie,  or  a  confirmed  miser  passes  by  on 
the  other  side  of  suffering,  want,  and  unhappiriess, 
we  do  not  feel  that  Christ  has  been  struck  at. 
There  is  harm  done ;  sin  is  committed ;  but  Chris- 
tianity is  not  impeached.  Rather  her  hands  are 
strengthened.  We  feel  more  deeply  the  need 
of  some  such  influence  to  restrain  us  from  evil. 
It  is  the  sober,  loyal,  industrious,  Sabbath-keep- 
ing, sound-principled,  respectable  church-member 
whose  weaknesses  and  wickednesses  spring  up  and 
bear  fruit  an  hundred-fold.  Every  cliurch-member 
who  indulges  in  dishonesty,  petulance,  niggardli- 
ness, falsehood,  wilful  ignorance,  quarrelsomeness, 
or  selfishness,  is  an  active  missionary  of  the  Devil, 
and  a  missionary  laboring  with  every  advantage. 

When  light  is  suddenly  let  in  upon  the  life  of  a 
blood-stained  pirate,  the  world  shudders,  —  catch- 
ing a  glimpse  at  the  abyss  into  which  man,  left  of 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  201 

his  Maker,  may  fall,  and  crime  becomes  more  hate- 
ful than  before.  But  when  a  statesman,  covered 
with  years  and  honors,  or  a  clergyman,  who  has 
long  broken  the  bread  of  life  to  his  people,  goes 
over  to  wroncT-doino;,  or  to  wrong-sufferino-  moral- 
ity  and  religion  are  stabbed  ;  for  not  only  will 
multitudes  be  led  to  go  and  do  likewise,  but  other 
multitudes,  standing  afar  oflp,  will  attribute  to  Chris- 
tianity the  weakness  of  its  professors,  and  so  the 
Son  of  God  is  crucified  afresh,  and  put  to  an  open 
shame.  When  Satan  comes  with  horns  and  hoof, 
unmitigated  and  hideous,  we  are  shocked,  and  flee 
from  him ;  but  when  he  puts  on  his  robes  of  light, 
we  take  him  to  our  hearths  and  hearts  —  the  dear, 
benevolent,  large-brained  one  —  and  entertain  him 
sumptuously  unawares. 

This  ought  not  to  be  so,  but  it  is  so.  Men  ought 
to  judge  justly,  but  they  will  not.  Because  a 
church-member  is  obstinate,  stiff-necked,  and  rebel- 
lious, men  ought  not  to  think  that  the  spirit  which 
the  Gospel  inculcates  is  not  gentle  and  easy  to  be 
entreated,  but  they  do.  The  sin  of  doing  it  is 
theirs,  but  the  sin  of  giving  them  occasion  to  do  it 
is  ours,  and  no  small  sin  is  it,  —  if  any  sin  can  be 
small,  —  either  in  its  extent  or  its  consequences. 
Practical  infidelity  in  the  Church  sows  theoretical 
infidelity  broadcast  over  the  world,  —  the  hideous 
dragon's  teeth  spring  up  into  strong-armed  men 
against  the  law  and  the  Gospel. 

It  would  seem  as  if  this  truth  would  be  patent  to 

9* 


202  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

the  most  unthinking  ;  but  if  it  is,  why  is  there  so 
much  defect  in  our  holiest  things  ?  If  we  know 
that,  while  there  is  a  sense  in  which  every  sin  of 
the  "  unregenerate  "  is  a  preacher  of  Christianity, 
there  is  no  sense  in  which  the  sins  of  the  "  regen- 
erate "  are  not  a  grievous  and  deadly  wound,  —  if 
we  know  that,  while  every  sin  committed  by  the 
confessedly  unprincipled  throws  into  greater  relief 
the  purity  of  the  Gospel,  and  increases  our  sense 
of  its  need,  every  sin  committed  by  the  professedly 
principled  tends  to  dii'ectly  the  opposite,  —  how  is 
it  that  we  who  profess  to  have  taken  Christ  into  our 
hearts,  and  to  follow  those  sacred  feet  through  all 
our  way,  can,  not  simply  fall  into  sin,  but  walk 
into  it  in  broad  daylight,  with  both  eyes  open,  and 
stay  in  it  and  revel  there  ?  How  can  we  forget 
that  the  shadow  of  our  sin  falls  athwart  religion, 
and  dims  the  light  that  should  shine  upon  those 
that  sit  in  darkness  ?  With  what  force  would  not 
the  minister's  words  fall  upon  the  ears  of  the  un- 
repentant, if  he  could  point  to  his  church  and  say, 
"  Behold  Israelites  indeed,  in  whom  is  no  guile  !  " 
I  remember  reading  a  sketch  of  a  young  girl 
who,  for  a  long  time,  resisted  almost  sullenly  the 
advances  of  her  Sabbath-school  teacher  and  friends, 
seemed  proof  against  the  influence  of  the  Gospel, 
and,  indeed,  doubted  its  genuineness  and  authentici- 
ty. Years  afterward,  when  she  had  been  brought 
under  its.  power,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  stum- 
bling-block in  her  way  had  been  the  selfishness 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  203 

and  worldliness  of  an  aunt  who  professed  the  reh'g- 
ion  of  Christ,  but  whose  hfe  was  not  conformed  to 
its  principles.  So  the  young  girl  judged  — not 
alone  from  hardness  of  heart,  but  naturally  and 
logically  —  that  religion  was  an  imposture.  Her 
reasoning  was  quite  correct,  only  her  premises 
were  not  true,  though  they  had  sufficiently  the 
appearance  of  truth  to  deceive  an  older  and  wiser 
head  than  hers.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  — 
then-L  By  the  fruits  which  religion  shows  in  one 
man,  we  know  the  power  of  religion  in  one  man. 
But  she,  and  many  others  with  her,  make  the 
mistake  of  translating  Christ  to  mean,  by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  ^7,  that  is  religion.  Now,  if 
we  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  enlarged  views,  of 
judging  justly,  of  deducing  universal  conclusions 
only  from  universal  premises,  there  would  be  less 
responsibility  on  individual  Christians.  The  his- 
tory of  Christianity,  in  its  inception  and  progress, 
proves  its  divine  origin  and  its  perfect  adequacy  ; 
but  nineteen  men  out  of  twenty  never  take  a  com- 
prehensive view  of  anything.  They  know  little 
or  nothing  of  the  working  or  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity. They  judge  it  from  what  they  see  of  it 
in  their  grocer  and  butcher  and  shoemaker,  and 
others  with  whom  they  have  dealings.  True, 
they  can  and  ought  to  judge  it  from  their  Bibles  ; 
but  the  question  is  not  what  they  ought  to  do, 
but  what  they  do,  and  as  long  as  they  form  their 
opinions  from  the  grocer's  life,  the  grocer  is  under 


204     THE  PROOF   OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

double  bonds  to  give  a  true  rendering  of  its  prin- 
ciples. 

Here  is  a  member  of  an  Orthodox  church  "  in 
good  and  regular  standing."  His  place  at  church 
is  seldom  vacant.  His  attendance  on  prayer- 
meetings  is  prompt  and  constant.  He  lifts  up  his 
voice  in  prayer  and  exhortation,  tells  what  the 
Lord  has  done  for  him,  would  on  no  account  walk 
or  ride  on  Sunday,  except  from  necessity,  scarcely 
even  from  mercy,  has  an  acute  sense  of  moral  re- 
sponsibility, and  professes  to  desire  to  speak  and 
write  only  what  will  be  for  the  glory  of  God  and 
the  good  of  souls.  Near  by  lives  a  woman,  a  wid- 
owed wife,  who,  in  the  abandonment  of  her  sor- 
row, has  neglected  to  perform  a  usual  courtesy 
towards  him,  —  which  omission,  by  vigorous  eifort, 
may  be  twisted  into  a  culpable  indiflPerence  to  re- 
ligion, but  which  has  really  no  more  connection 
with  religion  than  has  the  rising  of  the  sun  or  the 
fallincr  of  the  dew.  There  are  several  things  which 
he  can  do.  He  can  say,  "  This  woman  is  crushed 
by  grief  and  overwhelmed  by  cares  to  which  she  is 
unaccustomed.  It  would  be  unworthy  in  me  at 
such  a  time  to  notice  so  slight  a  matter."  Or  he 
might  say,  "  This  is  too  important  a  thing  to  be 
allowed  to  pass  silently.  I  will  ascertain  whether 
my  suspicions  be  correct,  and  if  so,  I  will,  at  a  fit- 
ting time,  gently  advise,  and  suggest  whether  duty 
do  not  point  out  a  different  course."  Not  so. 
He  does  what  looks  very  much  like  soothing  his 


THE  PROOF   OF  YOUR  LOVE.  205 

wounded  and  inordinate  self-love  with  the  idea  of 
doing  God  service,  assumes  the  worst  possible  mo- 
tives for  the  trivial  act,  so  turning  a  sorrowful, 
momentary  forgetfulness  towards  himself  into  3 
deliberate  sin  against  God,  and  smites  with  crue"i 
reproaches,  harder  in  her  condition  to  bear  than 
blows,  one  whom  God  has  already  sorely  smitten. 

Here  is  another  man  who  is  not  a  Christian. 
He  scarcely  believes  in  moral  accountability.  Hfo 
seldom  goes  to  meeting  unless  there  is  a  prospect 
of  unusually  fine  singing.  He  generally  stops  at 
home  on  Sunday,  writes  letters,  reads  the  news- 
papers, has  a  jovial  dinner,  drives  a  span  of  fine 
horses,  smokes  half  a  dozen  cigars  or  so,  and  loun- 
ges generally.  He  is  too  gentlemanly  to  swear, 
unless  he  is  very  much  excited.  He  drinks  wine, 
but  seldom  loses  in  it  his  self-control,  —  becomes 
animated,  but  not  boisterous.  He  is  waited  on  one 
day  by  a  man  of  noble  character,  but  wanting  in 
what  we  Yankees  call  "  faculty."  This  man's  af- 
fairs are  entangled  beyond  his  own  power  to  extri- 
cate them.  An  able  but  unscrupulous  person  is 
attempting,  with  every  prospect  of  success,  to  wrest 
from  him  his  little  property,  and  he,  being  acciden- 
tally thrown  in  with  my  pleasant  pagan  friend, 
apphes  to  him  for  counsel.  My  friend  is  not  a 
lawyer.  His  profession,  which  is  active  and  ex- 
acting, removes  him  entirely  from  that  sphere  of 
life ;  but  he  is  clear-headed,' —  a  man  of  great 
practical   sagacity,  great   common-sense.    '  He    is 


206  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

moved  bj  the  calamity  that  threatens  an  innocent, 
brave,  though  "  incapable  "  man.  He  knows  that 
a  lawyer's  fee  would  exhaust  a  large  portion  of  the 
poor  man's  estate.  He  sees  the  direction  in  which 
steps  ought  to  be  taken.  He  leaves  his  own  busi- 
ness to  his  own  hurt.  He  takes  up  the  cause  of 
the  poor  man,  heads  off  his  opponent,  clears  away 
the  rubbish,  works  through  a  whole  summer  till 
the  poor  man's  rights  are  triumphantly  established, 
and  his  small  property  restored  to  him  beyond 
danger  of  alienation,  and  then  goes  home  without 
one  cent  of  fee,  with  no  reward  save  the  gratitude 
of  the  man  and  his  family  who  have  been  saved 
from  penury,  and  takes  up  again  the  broken  thread 
of  his  own  business. 

In  the  light  of  the  Divine  precept,  "  Bear  ye 
one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of 
Christ,"  which  of  these  men  went  down  to  his 
house  justified  ? 

We,  who  are  large-minded  and  wise,  are  not 
deceived  in  this  thing.  We  know  that,  though 
religion  may  adorn  and  illuminate  a  one-story 
house,  it  can  never  make  it  a  two-story  house. 
We  know  that  the  first  man  was  essentially  nar- 
row-minded and  petty,  and  that  religion  may  have 
expanded  him,  though  it  had  not  made  him  great. 
We  know  that  the  leaven  of  love  may  have  been 
in  his  heart,  though  it  had  not  yet  leavened  the 
whole  lump ;  that  his  short-comings  may  not 
have  been  because  the  good  work  was  not  begun 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  207 

in  him,  but  because  it  was  not  finished,  and  that 
this  particular  short-coming  was  in  a  quarter  that 
the  Gospel  had  not  reached ;  that  he  was  not  ne- 
cessarily, nor  even  probably,  utterly  hypocritical 
in  his  prayers,  praises,  and  professions,  because  he 
had  showed  himself  in  this  respect  utterly  selfish ; 
that  religion  is  not  an  imposition  because  here  it 
had  left  him  in  the  lurch.  We  know,  too,  that 
the  second  man  started  in  advance.  He  was  or- 
ganized with  a  larger  heart.  He  had  by  nature 
what  the  other  will  hardly  attain  by  grace,  and, 
even  with  that  advantage,  his  generosity  would 
never  have  attained  so  rich  a  growth  had  it  not 
struck  root  in  a  soil  mellowed  through  no  in- 
tervention of  his,  by  the  culture  of  eighteen  cen- 
turies, and  opened  in  the  reflected  beams  of  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness,  which  shines  alike  upon  the 
evil  and  the  good.  We  know  that  his  natural 
kindliness  has  been  fostered  by  the  genial  atmos- 
phere that  wrapped  him  about  unconscious,  and 
that  it  would  have  borne  still  fairer  fruit  had  he 
but  suffered  the  dews  of  Divine  love  to  penetrate 
to  the  roots.  We  know  all  this,  and  are  in  no 
danger  of  deeming  religion  a  deception  on  the  one 
side  or  a  superfluity  on  the  other. 

But  your  clerk,  who  is  an  observant,  though 
necessarily  from  his  years  an  inexperienced  young 
man,  does  not  think  of  all  this.  He  sees  only  the 
expressed  premise,  and  he  judges  therefrom.  He 
sees  the  irreligious  man  fulfilling  the  law  of  -Christ, 


208  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

and  the  relio-Ious  man  breaking  it.  He  sees  the 
one  performing  an  act  which  commands  his  high- 
est admiration,  and  the  other  guilty  of  a  meanness 
which  excites  his  severest  contempt ;  nor  does 
the  rehgious  indifference  of  the  one,  or  the  rehg- 
ious  zeal  of  the  other,  seem  to  be  at  all  affected 
by  it,  or  in  any  way  related  to  it.  What  shall  he 
infer  ?  What  will  he  probably,  or  at  any  rate, 
what  is  there  danger  that  he  will  infer  ? 

I  am  aware  that  I  am  not  on  the  highest  ground, 
but  it  is  not  low.  To  lead  an  upright  life  because 
our  neio;hbors  are  lookino;  at  us,  is  less  noble  than 
to  do  it  because  God  wills  it.  The  latter  is  a  suf- 
ficient reason  for  the  practice  of  every  virtue  ;  yet 
if  the  former,  from  its  constant  presence  and  defi- 
niteness,  will  stir  us  up  by  way  of  remembrance, 
when  the  latter  is  momentarily  forgotten,  we 
need  not  despise  it  from  the  heights  of  our  lofti- 
ness. If,  beyond  this,  we  are  incited  by  the  desire 
to  benefit  our  brother,  to  guide  him  to  the  right 
way  by  keeping  our  Own  light  burning  brightly, 
to  win  him  to  the  'Gospel  by  showing  him  into 
how  fair  a  shape  the  Gospel  has  carved  our  own 
lives,  —  then,  indeed,  though  we  be  not  on  the 
highest  ground,  we  are  but  little  lower  than  the 
angels. 

Every  one  who  subscribes  with  his  hand  unto 
the  Lord  ought  to  understand  —  and  if  he  does  not 
understand,  his  spiritual  teachers  should  instruct 
him  —  that    on  his  Mondays  and   Tuesdays  and 


THE  PROOF   OF   YOUR  LOVE.  209 

Wednesdays  and  Thursdays  and  Fridays  and  Sat- 
urdays, on  the  market-days  and  quarter-days  and 
holidays  and  baking-days  and  washing-days  and 
sweeping-days,  on  the  spring  sales  and  the  win- 
ter's sledding",  on  the  fall  sewino;  and  the  summer 
picnics,  on  the  morning  prayers  and  the  evening 
parties,  should  be  inscribed,  Holiness  unto  the 
Lord  ! 

Daniel  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he  would  not 
defile  himself  with  the  king's  meat  and  wine, 
thinking  that  pulse  was  better,  and  they  tried  him 
for  ten  days  with  pulse.  If  at  the  end  of  that  time 
he  had  exhibited  shrunken  cheeks,  thin  lips,  cav- 
ernous eyes,  and  a  general  leanness  in  his  bones, 
it  would  have  furnished  but  a  poor  argument  in 
favor  of  his  vegetarian  diet ;  but  when,  at  the  end 
of  ten  days,  his  countenance  appeared  fairer  and 
fatter  in  flesh  than  all  the  children  which  did  eat 
the  portion  of  the  king's  meat,  there  was  no  more 
trouble  about  it.  He  had  his  pulse  and  welcome. 
His  looks  were  an  argument  which  nothing  could 
gainsay  or  resist. 

So,  when  the  presidents  and  princes,  moved  with 
envy  because  Daniel  had  been  preferred  above 
them,  sought  to  find  occasion  against  him  concern- 
ing the  kingdom,  they  could  find  none  occasion  nor 
fault ;  forasmuch  as  he  was  faithful,  neither  was 
there  any  eorror  or  fault  found  in  him  :  and  in  de- 
spair they  exclaimed,  "  We  shall  not  find  any 
occasion   against    this    Daniel,   except   we   find    it 


210  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

against  him  concerning  the  law  of  his  God." 
Daniel's  courageous  devotion  would  never  have 
been  handed  down  for  the  world's  admiration  and 
imitation,  if  the  presidents  and  princes  could  have 
discovered  a  flaw  in  Daniel's  account-book,  an 
attempt  to  embezzle  the  funds,  a  neglect  of  the 
material  interests  of  the  kingdom,  or  a  conspiracy 
against  the  king's  life. 

The  religion  that  the  world  is  dying  for  is  not  a 
treasure,  valued  and  cherished,  indeed,  but  cher- 
ished under  a  glass  case  in  the  best  room,  carefully 
dusted,  and  visible  only  on  days  of  high  festival. 
We  want  a  religion  that  is  an  atmosphere,  wrap- 
ping us  about  above  and  below  ;  going  down  into 
the  lungs  in  deep-drawn  inspirations,  to  purify  and 
energize ;  filtering  into  the  blood,  to  tint  and 
quicken  ;  spreading  out  in  the  skin,  to  protect 
and  adorn  ;  piercing  noisome  cellars  to  dispel  the 
noxious,  death-dealing  vapors  ;  mounting  into  the 
parlors  and  bed-rooms  and  kitchens,  to  keep  them 
sweet  and  healthful ;  permeating  and  interpene- 
trating all  things  ;  a  savor  of  life  unto  life. 

We  want  a  religion  that  softens  the  step,  and 
tones  the  voice  to  melody,  and  fills  the  eye  with 
sunshine,  and  checks  the  impatient  exclamation 
and  the  harsh  rebuke  ;  a  religion  that  is  polite, 
deferential  to  superiors,  courteous  to  inferiors,  and 
considerate  of  friends ;  a  religion  that  goes  into 
the  family,  and  keeps  the  husband  from  being 
spiteful  when  the  dinner  is  late,  and  keeps  the  din- 


THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE.  211 

ner  from  being  late,  —  keeps  the  wife  from  fretting 
when  the  husband  tracks  tlie  newlj  washed  floor 
with  his  muddy  boots,  and  makes  the  husband 
mindful  of  the  scraper  and  the  door-mat,  —  keeps 
the  mother  patient  when  the  baby  is  cross,  and 
keeps  the  baby  pleasant,  —  amuses  the  children  as 
w^ell  as  instructs  them,  —  wins  as  well  as  governs, 
—  cares  for  the  servants,  besides  paying  them 
promptly,  —  projects  the  honey-moon  into  the  har- 
vest-moon, and  makes  the  happy  home  like  the 
Eastern  ficr-tree,  bearino;  in  its  bosom  at  once  the 
beauty  of  the  tender  blossom  and  the  glory  of  the 
ripened  fruit ;  a  religion  that  looks  after  the  appren- 
tice in  the  shop,  and  the  clerk  behind  the  counter, 
and  the  student  in  the  office,  with  a  fatherly  care 
and  a  motherly  love,  —  setting  the  solitary  in  fam- 
ilies, introducing  them  to  pleasant  and  wholesome 
society,  that  their  lonely  feet  may  not  be  led  into 
temptation,  forgiving  occasional  lapses  while  striv- 
ing to  prevent  them,  and  to  supply,  so  far  as  may 
be,  the  place  of  the  natural  guardians  by  a  vigi- 
lance that  attracts  without  annoying. 

We  want  a  religion  that  shall  intei-pose  contin- 
ually between  the  ruts  and  gullies  and  rocks  of  the 
highway  of  life,  and  the  sensitive  souls  that  are 
travellincr  over  them. 

We  want  a  religion  that  bears  heavily,  not  only 
on  the  "  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,"  but  on  the 
exceeding  rascality  of  lying  and  stealing,  —  a  re- 
ligion that  banishes  short  measures  from  the  conn- 


212  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE, 

ters,  small  baskets  from  the  stalls,  pebbles  from  the 
cotton-bags,  clay  from  paper,  sand  from  sugar, 
chicory  from  coffee,  otter  from  butter,  flour  from 
cream  of  tartar,  beet-juice  fr'om  vinegar,  alum  from 
bread,  strychnine  from  wine,  water  from  milk-cans, 
and  buttons  from  the  contribution-box.  The  re- 
ligion that  is  to  save  the  world  will  not  put  all  the 
big  strawberries  at  the  top,  and  all  the  bad  ones 
at  the  bottom.  It  will  sell  raisins  on  stems,  instead 
of  stems  without  raisins.  It  will  not  offer  more 
baskets  of  foreign  wines  than  the  vineyards  ever 
produced  bottles,  and  more  barrels  of  Genesee  flour 
than  all  the  wheat-fields  of  New  York  grow  and 
all  her  mills  grind.  It  will  not  make  one  half  of 
a  pair  of  shoes  of  good  leather,  and  the  other  of 
poor  leather,  so  that  the  first  shall  redound  to  the 
maker's  credit,  and  the  second  to  his  cash ;  nor,  if 
the  shoes  have  been  promised  on  Thursday  morn- 
ing, will  it  let  Thursday  morning  spin  out  till  Sat- 
urday night.  It  will  not  put  Jouvin's  stamp  on 
Jenkins's  kid  Hoves  ;  nor  make  Paris  bonnets  in 
the  back  room  of  a  Boston  milliner's  shop  ;  nor  let 
a  piece  of  velvet,  that  professes  to  measure  twelve 
yards,  come  to  an  untimely  end  in  the  tenth ;  or  a 
spool  of  sewing-silk,  that  vouches  for  twenty  yards, 
be  nipped  in  the  bud  at  fourteen  and  a  half;  nor 
the  cotton-thread  spool  break,  to  the  yard-stick,  fifty 
of  the  two  hundred  yards  of  promise  that  was  given 
to  the  eye  ;  nor  yard-wide  cloth  measure  less  than 
thirty-six    inches    from    selvage   to    selvage ;    nor 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE.  213 

all-wool  delaines  and  all-linen  handkerchiefs  be 
'  amalgamated  with  clandestine  cotton  ;  nor  water- 
proof cloaks  be  soaked  through  in  an  hour;  nor 
coats  made  of  old  woollen  rags  pressed  together  be 
sold  to  an  unsuspecting  public  for  legal  broadcloth. 
It  does  not  put  bricks  at  five  dollars  per  thousand 
into  chimneys  which  it  contracted  to  build  of  seven- 
dollar  materials ;  nor  smuggle  white  pine  into 
floors  that  have  paid  for  hard  pine  ;  nor  leave 
yawning  cracks  in  closets  where  boards  ought  to 
join  ;  nor  daub  ceilings  that  ought  to.  be  smoothly 
plastered  ;  nor  make  wandow-blinds  with  slats  that 
cannot  stand  the  wind,  and  paint  that  cannot  stand 
the  sun,  and  fastenings  that  may  be  looked  at,  but 
are  on  no  account  to  be  touched.  It  does  not  send 
the  little  boy,  who  has  come  for  the  daily  quart  of 
milk,  into  the  barn-yard  to  see  the  calf,  and  seize 
the  opportunity  to  skim  off  the  cream  ;  nor  does 
it  surround  stale  butter  w^ith  fresh,  and  sell  the 
whole  for  good  ;  nor  pass  off  the  slack-baked  bread 
upon  the  stable-boy ;  nor  dust  the  pepper ;  nor 
"  deacon "  the  apples.  It  does  not  put  cotton 
gathering-threads  into  the  skirt,  to  succumb  on 
the  slightest  provocation  ;  nor  content  itself  with 
fastening  seams  at  the  beginning  and  the  end, 
trusting  to  Providence  for  the  security  of  the  in- 
termediate stao;es. 

The  religion  that  is  to  sanctify  the  world  pays 
its  debts.  It  does  not  borrow  money  with  little  or 
no  prospect  of  repayment,  but  concealing  or  gloss- 


214  THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

ing  over  the  fact.  It  does  not  consider  that  forty 
cents  returned  for  one  hundred  cents  given  is  ac- 
cording to  Gospel,  though  it  may  be  according  to 
law.  It  looks  upon  a  man  who  has  failed  in  trade, 
and  who  continues  to  live  in  luxury,  as  a  thief.  It 
looks  upon  a  man  who  promises  to  pay  fifty  dollars 
on  demand  with  interest,  and  who  neglects  to  pay 
it  on  demand  with  or  without  interest,  as  a  liar. 

I  believe  more  sin  has  been  committed  by  non- 
payment or  tardy  payment  of  debts  than  by  any 
heresy  that  the  world  ever  heard  of.  The  indiffer- 
ence of  some  professing  Christians  on  this  subject 
is  astonishing.  It  would  seem  as  if  they  did  not 
recognize  any  moral  obligation  whatever  in  respect 
of  their  debts.  There  are,  of  course,  many  differ- 
ent classes  of  non-paying  debtors.  There  are, 
doubtless,  men  who  take  advantage  of  "  the  times  " 
to  cheat.  Under  cover  of  money  pressure  they 
stop  payment  to  their  creditors  when  the  state  of 
their  business  does  not  demand  it.  They  trust 
that  their  individual  short-comings  will  be  attribut- 
ed to  the  universal  panic  ;  and  the  money  which 
of  right  belongs  to  their  clerks,  or  other  employes 
or  creditors,  is  devoted  to  that  interesting  tonsorial 
operation  known  as  "  shaving  notes."  There  are 
others  who  seem  to  "  fail  "  systernatically.  It  is  a 
regular,  periodical  part  of  their  business  arrange- 
ment, and  by  long  practice  they  attain  a  "  strange 
alacrity  in  sinking."  Of  such  I  do  not  speak. 
The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  can  probably  touch   the 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE.  215 

men  who  have  turned  their  consciences  into  a  com- 
mercial barometer,  a  bank-note  detector,  and  who 
worship  a  golden  calf;  but  they  certainly  present 
a  very  discouraging  field  for  human  effort.  Nor 
do  I  refer  to  those  who  nobly  struggle  and  bravely 
fall,  —  who,  in  their  counting-rooms  and  over  their 
ledgers,  make  as  heroic  a  stand  and  as  manly  a 
fight  as  any  Leonidas  at  Thermopylae,  and  who 
fall  at  last,  not  through  weakness  or  fear  or  treach- 
ery,  but  overpowered  by  the  inexorable  "  logic  of 
events."  I  refer  now  to  you,  who  are  a  member, 
in  good  and  regular  standing,  of  the  first  or  the 
fiftieth  Congregational  Church  in  Boston,  or  else- 
where, —  you  who  are  liberal  in  your  expenditures, 
generous  in  your  gifts,  kind,  genial,  popular,  and 
well  beloved.  You  are  an  excellent  man  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  but  I  have  somewhat  against  you.  The 
hire  of  the  laborer  which  is  of  you  kept  back  by 
fraud,  crieth.  By  fraud  ?  Yes,  by  fraud.  It  is 
a  harsh  word,  but  an  honest.  You  take  your  fam- 
ily out  to  a  sleigh-ride,  and  have  never  paid  the 
man  who  mended  the  sleigh  after  it  was  broken  in 
your  previous  ride.  You  have  no  account  with 
him.  It  was  a  mere  trifle,  —  a  trifle  to  you,  and 
perhaps  a  trifle  to  him  ;  but  the  trifle  is  his,  not 
yours,  and  you  retain  it  unjustly  and  unrighteous- 
ly. He  does  not  like  to  ask  you  for  the  sum,  it  is 
so  small,  and  you  told  him  you  had  not  the  change 
at  the  time,  but  you  would  make  it  all  right.  Why 
do  you  not  make  it  all  right  ? 


216  THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

Why  do  you  not,  madam,  pay  the  man  who  has 
been  giving  your  daughter  French  and  German 
lessons  now  these  two  quarters?  He  is  an  exile, 
a  nobleman,  a  man  of  education  and  refinement 
(though  that  does  not  affect  the  f^act  of  your  in- 
debtedness). He  cannot  bring  himself  to  ask  you 
for  the  money  which  is  justly  his  due.  But  his 
wife  and  his  little  boys  are  to  be  provided  for. 
His  pupils  are  few,  and  he  can  with  difficulty  make 
both  ends  meet  even  when  every  link  is  in  the 
chain ;  but  when  your  link  is  missing,  the  case  is 
indeed  discouraging.  Why  do  you  not  pay  him  ? 
You  have  not  the  money  by  you?  But  you  have 
everything  you  need,  and  a  great  many  things  that 
you  do  not  need.  If  you  cannot  afford  to  pay 
him,  why  did  you  engage  him  ?  Can  he  afford  to 
give  lessons  that  you  cannot  afford  to  buy  ?  Sell 
your  watch,  sell  your  bracelets,  and  pay  him. 
Pay  him  now,  if  you  pay  at  all.  It  is  his.  From 
the  moment  the  money  was  due  him  it  was  his, 
and  every  moment  since  that  time  you  have  been 
retaining  another's  property,  and  you  are  an  ex- 
tortioner and  unjust.  It  is  no  matter  whether  you 
know  that  he  stands  in  need  of  it  or  not,  —  or  evea 
whether  he  does  stand  in  need  of  it.  That  is  none 
of  your  business.  You  did  not  engage  to  pay  him 
so  much  if  he  needed  it ;  but  so  much.  No  per- 
son is  so  rich  that  he  does  not  want  to  be  paid 
what  is  due  him,  and  when  it  is  due.  You  have 
no  risht  to  assume  that  your  creditor  is  richer  than 


THE  PROOF   OF   YOUR   LOVE.  217 

you,  or  beyond  want,  and  therefore  you  need  not 
be  particular  about  promptness.  You  do  not  know 
the  actual  state  of  the  case,  and  if  you  did  it  is 
nothing  to  the  purpose.  Pay  what  you  owe.  Did 
you  forget  it  ?  Then  go  at  once  and  make  every- 
thmg  square,  beg  his  pardon,  and  pray  to  the  Lord, 
if  perhaps  the  selfish  thoughtlessness  of  your  heart 
may  be  forgiven  you. 

You,  high-spirited  friend,  who  are  always  a  vic- 
tim to  the  "  laws  of  trade,"  you  are  the  man. 
You  fancy  yourself  to  be  one  of  those  lofty  souls 
who  soar  above  the  sordid  many.  You  have  no 
accumulative  faculty.  You  are  perpetually  in  pe- 
cuniary trouble,  simply  because  you  have  a  proud 
disdain,  a  sublime  incapacity,  for  accounts.  Your 
generous  indifference  is  the  seal  of  your  genius. 
Do  you  know  that  you  are  intolerably  mean  ? 
Your  grand  scorn  of  money  brings  you  into  straits, 
to  get  out  of  which  you  do  things  which  the  nar- 
row-souled,  calculating  Yankee  neighbor,  whom 
you  despise,  would  blush  to  think  of.  This  is  one 
thing  you  did.  When  your  friend  asked  you  to  get 
his  fifty-dollar  check  cashed  for  him  at  the  bank, 
you  did  so ;  but  returned  him  only  forty-five  dollars, 
remarking,  in  your  careless,  off-hand,  jovial  way, 
that  you  had  "  retained  a  V  for  commission  fee." 
Here  is  another  thing  you  did,  —  borrowed  a  dollar 
of  your  seamstress  to  pay  a  little  bill  that  was  pre- 
sented when  she  was  by,  and  never  returned  it,  — 
and  never  will ;  and  you  do  not  call  yourself  .mean  I 

10 


218    THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

That  generosity  which  is  generous  to  itself  and 
its  family,  and  forgetful  of  or  unjust  to  others,  is 
of  a  very  suspicious  and  exasperating  character. 
One  man  would  like  summer  drives  and  holiday 
journeys  as  well  as  another.  He  would  like  to 
dress  his  children  prettily,  and  give  them  toys  at 
Christmas,  and  lighten  his  wife's  labors,  and  re- 
lieve the  poor,  as  well  as  another ;  and  it  cannot 
be  pleasant  to  him  to  see  the  other  doing  all  these 
fine  things,  and  know  the  while  that  that  other 
owes  him  money  which  he  neglects  to  pay,  and 
which,  paid,  would  furnish  him  with  more  than 
one  of  these  comforts  which  he  is -now  forced  to 
deny  himself.  And  though  a  sparkling  wit,  a 
bright  smile,  and  a  ready  sympathy  may  hide  or 
veil  the  meanness,  the  meanness  is  none  the  less 
there.  Selfishness  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  be 
careful  about  little  things,  to  deny  itself  pleasant 
things,  to  think  of  unattractive  things,  to  plan 
about  commonplace  things,  and  so  it  rides  gayly 
over  its  own  duties,  and  wickedly  lays  on  others' 
shoulders  the  burden  which  itself  will  not  move 
■vvith  so  much  as.  one  of  its  fingers.  Such  high- 
mindedness  "  smells  to  heaven." 

Men  and  brethren,  pay  your  little  debts.  If 
you  will  cheat,  cheat  sublimely,  like  Fowler  and 
Floyd,  but  do  not  attempt  to  ride  two  horses  at 
once,  by  sustaining  on  one  side  the  character  of  a 
high-minded  Christian  citizen,  and  on  the  other 
that  of  a  petty  purloiner. 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR   LOVE.  219 

There  is  another  sm,  near  of  kin  to  the  forego- 
ing, which  ought  to  lie  more  heavily  than  it  does 
on  the  conscience  of  the  Church,  —  not  that  the 
Church  monopolizes  the  guilt,  but  she  is  stained 
by  it,  and  deeply  stained.  I  mean  the  non-fulfil- 
ment of  engagements.  You  can  scarcely  offer  a 
grosser  insult  to  a  person  than  to  accuse  him  of 
falsehood,  yet  the  chances  that  he  will  tell  a  false- 
hood are  fearfully  large.  Not  that  society  in  general 
is  wholly  addicted  to  manufacturing  stories  "  out  of 
whole  cloth."  A  very  large  proportion  will  ad- 
here to  facts  with  tolerable  closeness  in  detailing 
their  observation  or  experience  ;  but  the  number 
of  whom,  in  making  business  arrangements,  it  can 
be  said  that  their  word  is  as  good  as  their  bond, 
is  very  small,  —  if  their  bond  is  good  enough  to 
be  taken  without  a  surety.  It  might  be  more 
gracious,  and  perhaps  more  correct,  to  put  it  a  lit- 
tle differently,  and  say  that  the  number  of  those 
whose  word  is  not  as  good  as  their  bond  is  very 
large. 

It  is  strange  that  the  interests  of  men,  apart 
from  moral  considei*ations,  should  not  make  them 
more  careful  to  keep  their  engagements.  In  some 
acceptations  it  is  absolutely  essential,  and  in  all  it 
must  be  profitable.  The  merchant,  the  railroad 
conductor,  the  expressman,  the  postmaster,  would 
soon  find  their  occupation  gone,  if  they  allowed  it 
such  "  loose  ends  "  as  many  others  do.  For  ex- 
ample,  your  new   house   is   to   be  ready  for  you 


\./ 


220    THE  PROOF  OF  YOUR  LOVE. 

by  Thanksgiving ;  but  if  you  get  into  it  by  New 
Year's,  you  will  do  well.  It  is  true,  unexpect- 
ed hinderances  arise.  Contino-encies  which  the 
builder  could  not  foresee  have  prevented  its  com- 
pletion, and  he  is  not  at  fault.  But  the  wonder 
is  that  unexpected  contingencies  arise  with  such  a 
remarkable  regularity  that  one  scarcely  expects 
his  house  to  be  done  at  the  time  agreed  upon. 
Again,  your  little  boy  is  anxiously  waiting  his 
first  pair  of  boots.  By  special  contract  they  are 
to  be  sent  home  on  Wednesday,  so  that  his  half- 
holiday  may  be  made  glorious.  But  the  half- 
holiday  drags  drearily  by  in  old  shoes,  and  when 
the  boots  will  come  home  "  God  and  the  shoe- 
maker alone  know,"  as  a  little  boy  once  despair- 
ingly said,  in  such  a  case.  Your  little  daughter's 
cloak:  is  to  be  finished  on  Friday,  to  make  sure  of 
her  having  it  for  Sunday.  Saturday  morning  you 
call  and  beg  the  dress-maker  to  report  progress. 
It  will  be  ready  for  you  in  the  afternoon.  At 
seven  P.  M.  you  call  again,  and  by  waiting  two 
hours  in  your  carriage,  on  a  frosty  night,  you  get 
it  to  bring  home,  with  the  seams  yet  rough,  and 
the  cape  half  sewed.  The  artist  who  furnishes 
the  illustrations  for  your  monthly  magazine  sol- 
emnly affirms  that  he  will  have  them  completed 
in  time  for  a  seasonable  issue.  By  dogging  him 
morning,  noon,  and  night,  you  get  your  magazine 
out  a  week  after  the  proper  time,  and  after  your 
table  is  loaded  with  letters  informing  you  that  the 


THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE.  221 

writer's  Februaiy  number  has  not  been  received, 
and  begging  to  know  why.  You  are  going  down 
to  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Tract  Society  to  re- 
port the  proceedings  for  your  paper.  You  meet  a 
friend  who  says  he  is  going,  and  offers  to  report 
for  you.  That  is  the  last  you  hear  of  him,  and 
your  paper  goes  to  press  without  the  report.  A 
load  of  coal  is  to  be  brought  on  Tuesday,  and  it 
comes  on  Thursday.  Your  "  country  cousins  " 
are  to  visit  you  "  the  first  of  next  week,"  and  you 
are  kept  at  home  from  a  pleasant  party  by  their 
coming  down  upon  you  on  Friday.  Your  friend 
is  to  call  for  you  at  half  past  six,  and  he  comes 
lounging  along  at  seven. 

This  is  all  wrong.  A  good  business  character 
and  a  good  Christian  character  require  that  we 
should  meet  our  engagements.  Unnecessary  fail- 
ure is  alike  unthrifty  and  sinful.  If  we  are  so 
unfortunately  constituted  that  we  cannot  recollect 
our  promises,  we  ought  not  to  make  them.  Say 
frankly,  "  I  will  do  it  if  I  do  not  forget ;  but  the 
chances  are  that  I  shall  foro-et."  Then  make  an 
effort  to  remember.  A  great  deal  of  our  memory, 
bad  and  good,  has  its  seat  in  the  heart.  Love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,  and  thou  wilt  not  forget  thy 
neighbor's  parcel  any  sooner  than  thine  own.  It 
is  selfishness  that  miaws  holes  in  our  memories. 
We  will  not  take  the  trouble  to  try  to  remem- 
ber, and  so  we  cause  our  friends  great  incon- 
venience, and  injure  our  own  souls.     But  many 


222  THE  PROOF  OF   YOUR  LOVE. 

forget  tlieir  own  affairs  with  great  regularity. 
They  are  as  great  a  trouble  to  themselves  as 
they  are  to  others.  To  such,  one  can  only  recom- 
mend constant  effort  to  overcome  an  inconvenient 
habit,  and  constant  scrupulousness  in  making  en- 
gagements. Let  them  always  make  it  clearly 
understood  that  they  are  not  to  be  depended 
on,  and  so  avoid  the  appearance  of  evil.  Let 
tradesmen  promise  less  recklessly.  If  they  have 
already  engaged  to  finish  by  Saturday  as  much 
work  as  they  can  finish,  let  them  not  engage  to  do 
more.  It  is  both  a  wrong  and  a  bad  policy.  If 
they  state  their  inabihty,  the  work  may  go  to  a 
rival  establishment ;  but  if  they  deceive,  somebody 
will  be,  not  only  disappointed,  but  exasperated,  and 
they  will  have  a  poor  chance  of  a  second  job  from 
the  same  quarter.  Extraordinary  skill  in  work- 
manship can  stand  such  strains  awhile,  but  the 
conscience  suffers  irremediably.  If  a  carpenter 
does  not  know  that,  so  far  as  his  plans  are  con- 
cerned, he  can  begin  a  barn  on  the  first  of  March, 
let  him  not  engage  to  begin  it  then.  If  it  is  con- 
tingent on  the  completion  of  another  job,  let  him 
mention  such  contingency.  The  carpenter  may 
lose  money,  but  the  man  will  gain  manhood. 
If  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  tailor  can  finish  the 
coat  in  season,  let  him  state  the  doubt.  His 
neighbor  may  get  the  job,  but  he  will  keep  his 
word. 

Let  the  world  do  as  it  may,  the  Church  should 


THE  PROOF   OF   YOUR  LOVE.  223 

free  its  skirts  from  sucli  sins.  If  pecuniary  inter- 
ests are  not  strong  enough  to  keep  us  in  the  right 
path,  rehgious  interests  should  be.  All  these 
things  come  within  the  scope  of  religion.  The 
Christian  name  should  be  a  tower  of  strength.  It 
should  stand  for  probity,  integrity,  truth,  and 
honor.     But  the  matter  rests  with  us. 

Religion  will  do  for  us  just  what  we  will  it  to 
do,  and  let  it  do.  If  we  are  content  to  be 
furbished  for  Sundays  with  an  additional  coating 
of  respectability ;  if,  when  our  names  are  en- 
rolled on  the  church  lists,  we  consider  ourselves 
booked  for  heaven,  with  nothing  further  to  do 
than  show  our  tickets  at  the  stations  ;  if  we  look 
upon  religion  as  something  to  be  adopted,  and 
whose  adoption  keeps  us  from  going  to  balls  and 
theatres,  reading  immoral  books,  driving  and  walk- 
ing on  Sunday,  and  using  profane  language,  then 
religion  will  do  this  for  us,  and  nothing  more. 
But  if  we  stop  here,  we  come  sadly  short  of  the 
glory  of  God.  Stop  here  we  shall,  unless  we 
press  wdth  determined  purpose  towards  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  a  higher  calling.  Religion  will 
not  come  down  into  our  lives,  purifying,  refining, 
softening,  elevating,  making  every  day  beautiful, 
every  house  the  gate  of  heaven,  every  body  a 
living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  unto  (lod, 
unless  we  bring  it  down. 


VIII. 


CONTROVERSIES, 


T  is  not  religion  that  gets  into  religious 
newspapers  now  and  then,  and  looks 
and  acts  so  much  like  slander,  spite, 
hatred,  envy,  malice,  and  all  uncharita- 
bleness,  that,  if  we  did  not  know,  we  should  cer- 
tainly christen  it  by  such  names ;  nor  is  it  religion 
that  creeps  into  the  churches,  and  sows  seeds  of 
dissension,  which  spring  up  and  bear  fruit  a  thou- 
sand-fold, in  ex  parte  councils,  seceding  cliques, 
angry  minorities,  insolent  majorities,  degrading 
rivalries,  heart-burnings,  and  jealousies.  Exam- 
ining some  issues  of  the  "  religious  press,"  and 
observing  the  charges  and  refutations,  the  crim- 
inations and  recriminations  of  religious  men  and 
religious  bodies,  one  feels  constrained  to  cry  out 
imploringly : 

"  Let  dogs  delig^ht  to  hark  and  bite, 
For  God  hath  made  them  so  ; 
Let  bears  and  lions  growl  and  fight, 
For  't  is  their  nature,  too  : 


CONTROVERSIES.  225 

"  But  children,  you  should  never  let 
Your  angry  passions  rise ; 
Your  little  hands  were  never  made 
To  tear  each  other's  eyes." 

The  acerbity  and  violence  of  religious  contro- 
versies, both  in  respect  of  doctrine  and  of  fact, 
are  proverbial,  and  no  wonder ;  but  should  it  be 
so  ?  Is  the  thing  inevitable  ?  Is  it  essential  to 
the  preservation  of  the  truth  in  its  purity  ?  Stag- 
nant waters  are  indeed  apt  to  be  muddy,  but  does 
stirring  them  up  with  a  pole,  necessarily  cleanse 
them?  Is  it  any  excuse  to  allege  that  religion 
is  of  paramount  importance,  and  therefore  men 
ought  to  understand  it  right,  and  therefore,  if  they 
will  not  comprehend  it  by  fair  means,  they  shall 
by  foul,  and  therefore  we  will 

"  Prove  our  doctrines  Orthodox 
By  apostolic  blows  and  knocks  "  1 

Shall  a  man  take  his  theology  as  the  homesick 
alligator  at  the  Aquarial  Gardens  was  forced  to 
take  his  food,  —  by  having  it  rammed  down  his 
throat  ?  We  should  scarcely  attempt  to  proselyte 
our  Universalist  neighbors  by  going  to  the  school- 
house  where  they  are  assembled  to  worship,  and 
breaking  the  windows.  We  know  very  well  that 
those  are  not  the  kind  of  stones  in  which  men 
look  to  find  sermons.  Nor  do  we  consider  the 
Mohammedan  method  of  propagating  religion,  by 
fire  and  sword,  as  altogether  unexceptionable  ; 
yet  there  are  words  harder  than  stone,  fiercer  than 

10*  o 


226  CONTROVERSIES. 

fire,  sharper  than  a  sword,  —  and  we  too  often 
use  them  with  unsparing  hand,  instead  of  putting 
on  the  breastplate  of  love,  and  walking  in  wisdom 
towards  them  that  are  without. 

The  worst  feature  of  religious  controversies  is 
the  undignified,  unmanly,  and  unchristian  per- 
sonalities in  which  opponents  sometimes  indulge. 
Very  angry  small  boys,  being  afraid  to  attack  the 
big  boys  who  have  roused  their  indignation,  will 
occasionally  take  refuge  in  distance,  and  find  con- 
solation in  "  making  faces  "  at  the  enemy.  So 
we,  being  unhappily  debarred  from  the  privilege 
of  burning  our  antagonists  at  the  stake,  stretch- 
ing them  on  the  rack,  or  breaking  them  on  the 
wheel,  betake  ourselves  to  the  newspapers,  and 
call  names.  What  good  does  it  do  anybody  ? 
We  are  like  children,  pounding  the  stone  that 
made  us  stumble  and  fall.  Our  fists  tingle  and 
redden  and  smart,  but  the  stone  bears  it  with 
great  equanimity.  It  does  not  require  genius, 
or  wit,  or  character,  or  eminent  piety,  to  make  and 
string  epithets,  though  it  does  require  all  these  to 
apply  them  in  all  cases  justly.  A  bhnd  fit  of  anger 
will  manufacture  them  in  unlimited  quantity,  and 
anger  is  not  careful  to  ascertain  whether  they  fit 
or  not.  Personalities,  so  far  from  strengthening 
a  cause,  almost  invariably  indicate  and  increase 
weakness.  Luther  did  not  thrust  the  table-cloth 
in  the  face  of  his  opponent  till  he  had  exhausted 
his  arguments.     It  was  the  Epicureans  and  Stoics, 


CONTROVERSIES.  227 

standing  on  the  crumbling  ruins  of  an  effete  su- 
perstition, that  rudely  asked,  "  What  will  this 
hahhler  say?"  but  Paul's  address  to  the  gay  Atlie- 
nians  was  a  model  of  high-bred  courtesy.  His 
feet  were  on  the  Rock  of  Ages,  and  he  could 
afford  to  maintain  intact 

"  The  grand  old  name  of  gentleman." 

Nay,  even  Michael  the  archangel,  when,  contend- 
ing with  the  Devil,  he  disputed  about  the  body  of 
Moses,  durst  not  bring  a  railing  accusation,  though, 
if  the  character  of  the  parties  concerned  would 
ever  justify  it,  that  would  certainly  seem  to  have 
been  the  time.  In  one  respect,  at  least,  religious 
controversialists  would  do  well  to  copy  pohtical. 
Parliamentary  courtesy  confines  itself  to  acts.  It 
forbids  inquiry  into  motives.  A  Kepresentative 
in  Congress,  who  would  not  hesitate  to  accuse  his 
colleague  of  constructive  treason,  would  by  no 
means  yield  to  the  temptation  of  asserting  or  in- 
timating that  he  had  inaugurated  a  measure,  or 
introduced  a  bill,  or  advocated  a  reform,  for  the 
sake  of  making  himself  popular  at  home,  and  se- 
curing %^otes  at  the  next  election.  But  theological 
and  ecclesiastical  courtesy  is  less  scrupulous,  and 
many  disputants  rush  in  where  statesmen  fear  to 
tread.  Motives  are  attributed  with  a  lavish  gener- 
osity. Facts  are  asserted  to  have  been  suppressed, 
quotations  garbled,  insignificant  and  impromptu 
or)inions  lifted  into  undue  and  deceptive^  promi- 


228  CONTROVERSIES. 

nence,  for  the  sake  of  making  out  a  case.  Yet  it 
can  easily  be  seen  that  the  rule  of  parliamentary 
courtesy  is  based  on  common-sense  grounds, — 
has  its  foundations  in  human  nature.  We  must 
be  ignorant  of  motives  in  a  great  degree.  We 
cannot  know,  however  strongly  we  may  suspect, 
or  however  logically  we  may  infer,  the  reason 
why  a  man  goes  to  the  right  instead  of  the  left. 
The  probabilities  are  generally  so  arranged  that 
we  can  judge  with  sufficient  accuracy  for  all  ordi- 
nary purposes  ;  and  as  things  go,  we  are  forced 
in  our  daily  life  to  act  with  reference  to  motives 
whose  existence  we  can  only  assume.  Yet  when 
we  come  to  the  point,  so  inexplicable  is  the  human 
heart,  so  intricate  are  its  workings,  and  so  momen- 
tous the  issues  involved,  that  etiquette  does  well 
to  step  in  and  diminish  the  mischief  which  Chris- 
tianity is  not  allowed  to  prevent.  Surely  polite- 
ness should  not  be  suffered  to  do  for  statesmen 
more  than  Christianity  does  for  Christians. 

I  see  no  irreverence,  but  rather  an  appreciation 
of  the  truest,  noblest,  and  holiest  meaning  of  a 
most  ill-used  word,  in  the  often  quoted  lines  of 
the  old  dramatist  Dekker,  who,  speaking  of  Christ, 

says: 

"  The  best  of  men 
That  e'er  wore  earth  about  him  was  a  sufferer : 
A  soft,  meek,  patient,  humble,  tranquil  spirit, 
The  first  true  gentleman  that  ever  breathed." 

In  many  of  the  accusations,  concerning  both 
motive   anl  action,   which  we   bring  against  our 


CONTROVERSIES,  229 

brethren,  I  do  not  tliink  we  can  be  at  heart  sin- 
cere. The  allegations  are  so  grievous,  that,  if  we 
believed  them  as  thoroughly  as  our  statements  in- 
dicate, and  as  we  perhaps  think  we  do,  we  could 
hardly  help  putting  on  sackcloth  and  sitting  in 
ashes. 

There  is  a  peculiar  liberty  wherewith  members 
of  Concrress  make  themselves  free.  In  their  de- 
liberations  you  shall  hear  such  words  as  liar,  inur- 
derer,  incendiary,  assassin,  applied  with  a  frequen- 
cy, pointedness,  and  enthusiasm  very  terrifying  to 
Northerners,  who  have  been  accustomed  to  under- 
stand the  word  murderer  to  mean  one  who  has 
killed  a  man  with  malice  aforethought ;  assassin, 
one  who  has  murdered  in  the  dark  ;  liar,  one  who 
tells  lies  ;  incendiary,  one  who  sets  buildings  on 
fire.  If,  however,  you  bring  these  wordy  war- 
riors to  the  point,  you  will  find  that  their  words 
have  a  certain  derived,  political,  Pickwickian 
sense,  entirely  beyond  the  scope  of  unpolitical 
understandings,  and  are  used  merely  to  illustrate 
an  argument,  to  enforce  a  principle,  and  quite 
probably  simply  to  adorn  a  tale.  Your  contempt- 
ible scoundrel,  your  black-hearted  traitor,  is  a 
quiet,  respectable  man,  —  a  colonel,  a  lawyer, 
perhaps  even  an  ex-Governor,  —  a  man  who 
is  thought  a  good  deal  of  by  his  neighbors  and 
townsmen,  whose  wife  dotes  on  him,  who  goes  out 
in  broad  daylight,  unarmed,  fearless  of  pohcemen, 
and  next  whom  you  have  yourself  sat  at  dinner> 


230  CONTROVERSIES. 

chatting  agreeably,  without  a  suspicion  that  his 
vile  soul  was  insecurely  linked  to  one  questionable 
virtue,  and  indissolubly  riveted  to  a  thousand  fear- 
ful crimes. 

So  we  sometimes  see  religious  newspapers  charg- 
ing each  other  with  acts  which  should  exclude  the 
perpetrators  from  the  fraternity  of  honest  men  ; 
or,  through  the  medium  of  religious  newspapers, 
one  church,  or  one  fraction  of  a  church,  or  one 
ecclesiastical  body,  or  one  member  of  it,  accuses 
another  of  an  act,  or  a  course  of  action,  which,  in 
sober  truth,  amounts  to  nothing  more  or  less  than 
obvious,  persistent  deception,  dishonesty,  trickery. 
Though  we  do  not,  like  our  Congressional  contem- 
poraries, speak  the  names  of  these  various  sins  and 
crimes,  we  just  as  really  attribute  them  to  our  breth- 
ren. Translate  out  of  the  language  of  the  church 
into  the  language  of  the  world,  —  substitute  in- 
voices, notes,  and  stocks  for  platforms,  resolutions, 
and  contributions,  —  and  you  have  as  fine  a  list 
of  state-prison  offences  as  is  often  seen  outside  of 
a  court-room. 

Can  such  be  correct  transcripts  of  facts  ?  Is  it 
true  that  a  church,  or  any  body  corporate,  whose 
very  existence  as  such  is  professedly  to  cultivate 
and  disseminate  the  principles  of  sound  morality 
and  true  religion,  does  fall  so  far  short  of  the  faith 
delivered  to  the  saints,  —  does  so  far  forget  its 
origin,  and  pervert  its  aims,  —  as  to  violate  com- 
mon law  and  common  honesty,  and  persist  in  its 


CONTROVERSIES.  231 

violation,  deliberately,  against  repeated  remon- 
strances, by  slieer  force  ?  Yet  we  see  no  convul- 
sion in  the  community.  Nothing  intimates  that  a 
great  grief  is  fallen  upon  Israel.  Everybody  eats, 
drinks,  and  sleeps  as  usual.  The  pulpits  still  stand, 
and  the  law  and  the  Gospel  are  appealed  to  from 
that  vantage-ground.  The  sacramental  cup  Is 
still  raised  to  devout  lips.  The  gray  heads  of  the 
culprits  still  go  in  and  out  among  the  people  with 
no  diminishing  of  honor.  No  odium  is  attached  to 
their  persons  ;  no  stigma  to  their  names.  What 
a  state  of  thinojs  does  this  arsue  !  A  whole  church 
plunges  into  darkness,  and  the 

"  majestic  heaven 
Shines  not  the  less  for  that  one  vanished  star." 

Can  we  wonder  that  the  world  will  not  let  itself 
be  converted  ?  To  what  should  it  be  converted 
if  it  were  willing  ?  Would  it  be  an  advance  for 
a  community  that  sends  its  thieves  to  prison  when 
it  catches  them,  to  merge  itself  in  a  community  that 
is  content  to  print  a  few  columns  of  expose  on  the 
subject  ?  If  the  stream  where  you  wish  to  drink 
is  muddy,  you  wiU  scarcely  find  clear  waters  by 
descending.  You  want  to  go  up,  not  down ;  up 
on  the  liigh  lands,  where  threads  of  crystal  cleave 
the  gray  old  rocks,  and  gather  purity  from  the 
earth's  deep  bosom  and  the  sky's  clear  blue. 

If  it  is  not  so,  if  the  acts  only  appear  dishonest 
because  we  are  looking  at  one  side,  why  do  we 
not  say  so,  or  why  do  we  say  anything  about  it  ? 


232  CONTROVERSIES.  \ 

Every  man  is  to  be  held  Innocent  till  he  is  proved  | 
guilty.     If  there  is  any  stand-point  from  which  we  \ 
can  view  our  opponent's  position,  and  find  it  not  , 
dishonest,  we  ought  to  mention  it.     We  have  no  J 
right  to  look  at  him  from  a  stand-point,  and  hold  ] 
him  up  to  view  as  a  criminal,  and  ignore  another,  i 
from  which  he  may  be  seen  as  simply  mistaken, 
or   deceived,    or   blameless.      Still  less  have  we  \ 
a  right  to  take  innocent  facts  and  construct  upon  I 
them  a  guilty  hypothesis  to  suit  our  foregone  con-  \ 
elusion.     A  right  to  do  it  ?     It  is  sin.     It  is  more  ■ 
than  murder.     It  may  rob  a  man  of  what  is  more  j 
precious  to  him  than  his  life.     It  attempts  to  take  i 
away  from  a  man  what,  taken,  would  leave  him  j 
stripped   of  his  manhood,  and  a  man's  manhood  ' 
is  worth  more  to  him  and  his  friends  than  his  bone  i 
and  muscle.     I  just  now  heard  one  Christian  man  ' 
say  that  he  did  not  believe  another  Christian  man 
would  do  a  certain  thing.     He  had  asserted  that  \ 
he  would  do  It.    He  had  Induced  others  to  change 
their  course  of  action  by  the  assertion.     He  would  • 
defraud   scores  of   people  by  not  doing   It.      He  \ 
had   given,   as   was    confessed,    no    slightest    sign  \ 
that  he    would  not   do  It.      The  time   appointed 
for   the    fulfilment    of    his    engagement    was    far 
off.     He  was  a  man  who,  though  cordially  dis- 
liked by  some,  was  as  cordially  loved  by  others, 
—  a  man  who  stood  high  In  the  esteem  of  Intel- 
lectual men  and  eminent  Christians.     A  neglect  : 
to  perform  his  promise  would  make  him  what  the  i 


CONTROVERSIES.  233 

4 

world  calls  a  rogue,  a  swindler,  a  rascal.  Yet 
lightly,  able  to  assign  no  single  reason,  a  Christian 
man  could  and  did  imply  all  this  against  him.  He 
probably  did  not  mean  all  this,  but  his  words 
meant  it,  and  so  any  uninterested  and  casual 
listener  could  hardly  help  understanding  them  to 
mean. 

A  little  Incident  fell  under  my  notice  a  few  days 
ago,  which  may  be  worth  recording,  not  on  its  own 
account,  but  as  an  illustration  of  the  way  things 
happen. 

Two  women  were  chatting  together  of  pies, 
puddings,  and  preserves,  as  is  the  manner  of 
women,  and  presently  fell  to  comparing  notes  as 
to  tomatoes,  —  both  were  fond  of  them,  —  "  ex- 
cellent preserves,"  —  "  How  much  sugar  do  you 
use  ?  "  "  After  all,  I  like  them  best  raw,  sliced, 
with  pepper  and  vinegar."  "  Why  /never  heard 
of  any  one's  eating  them  that  way."  "  O,  it's  very 
common.  Did  you  have  any  difficulty  in  planting 
them  ?  "  "  No,  we  put  them  right  in  with  the 
corn,  and  had  enough  for  ourselves  and  all  the 
neighbors."  And  so  on  till  the  topic  was  exhaust- 
ed, and  then,  after  a  short  pause,  one  of  them  re- 
marked, "  There  's  one  thing  I  don't  like,  and  that 
is  tomatoes  !  "  The  second  woman  looked  up  in 
astonishment,  evidently  hesitating  whether  to  let 
it  pass  or  not,  but*finally,  curiosity  prevailing  over 
politeness,  she  quietly  asked,  "  Pray,  what  have 
we  just  been   talking  about  ?  "     *'  Why,  citrons, 


234  CONTROVERSIES. 

have  n't  we  ?  "  " /have  n't ;  you  said  tomatoes." 
"  Well,  I  meant  citrons,  and  was  thinking  of 
citrons  all  the  time,"  —  and  so  it  passed  off  with  a 
laugh. 

This  slight  incident  vividly  impressed  on  my 
mind  the  danger  in  which  we  all  are  of  beincr 
held  responsible  for  opinions  which  we  never 
entertained,  and  of  attributing  to  others  false- 
hoods of  which  they  are  entirely  innocent.  The 
case  in  question  was  one  of  no  importance  in 
itself;  but  such  mistakes  are  just  as  likely  to  be 
made  in  cases  where  passions,  prejudices,  and  in- 
terests are  concerned ;  and  when  the  little  discov- 
ery that  is  to  set  things  right  does  not  happen  to 
be  made,  one  will  believe,  to  his  dying  day,  that 
the  other  told  a  downright  lie,  and  the  other  will 
believe  just  as  long,  and  just  as  sincerely,  that 
one  has  circulated  a  slander.  A  great  many  peo- 
ple would  never  in  this  world  be  convinced  that 
such  a  mistake  could  arise  —  if  passions  were  en- 
listed on  either  side.  Yet,  undoubtedly,  a  great 
many  of  those  remarkable  things  which  nobody 
can  explain  come  about  in  just  as  guiltless  a  way 
as  this.  Misunderstandino;  is  so  common  a  cause 
of  quarrel,  that  the  very  word  has  come  to  signify 
a  quarrel ;  but  misunderstanding  is  not  the  only 
cause  of  misunderstandings.  Misstatements  make 
trouble,  and  are  not  so  easily  detected.  A  little 
girl,  being  asked  how  many  chickens  she  had, 
answered  promptly,  "  A  hundred  hens  and  a  hun- 


CONTROVERSIES.  235 

dred  chickens."  Apart  from  a  certain  balance 
and  finish  of  the  numbers  which  do  not  generally 
belong  to  things  in  this  world,  and  the  undue 
proportion  between  parents  and  offspring,  which 
gave  an  air  of  intrinsic  improbability  to  the  state- 
ment, it  would  have  passed  muster  very  well ; 
certainly  nothing  was  further  from  her  design 
than  to  tell  a  lie ;  but  the  hens  and  chickens 
that  came  at  call  were  countless  to  a  child,  and 
hundred  was  a  number  expressive  to  a  child's 
mind  of  infinity,  —  so  the  two  infinites  were 
brought  together,  and  a  very  pretty  falsehood  set 
going.  Have  you  never  yourself  begun  a  sen- 
tence, and  before  you  got  through  forgotten  what 
you  were  talking  about,  and,  with  your  mind  a 
thousand  miles  off,  finished  it  quite  at  random, 
and,  of  course,  with  utter  disregard  of  truth  ? 
But  you  are  not  an  habitual  liar.  You  have  a 
very  firm  behef  that  you  would  not  tell  one  wil- 
ful lie.  There  are  very,  very  few  who  have 
not  demonstrated  human  fallibility  with  their  own 
mouths.  What  large-hearted  charity,  then,  should 
we  exercise  towards  others  !  What  generous  mar- 
gin should  we  leave  for  mistakes  and  whimsical 
mental  action !  How  positive  the  proof,  how  over- 
whelming the  presumptive  evidence,  before  we 
can  be  prepared  to  believe  evil  of  men,  —  espe- 
cially if  we  have  known  them  upright ! 

There  was  great  excitement  among  the  children 
of  Israel  when  the  news  came  that  the  tribes  be- 


236  CONTROVERSIES, 

yond  Jordan  had  built  an  altar  and  set  up  for  them- 
selves. It  was  a  secession  which  could  not  be  tol- 
erated. God  had  ordained  one  altar,  and  there  all 
offerings  must  be  brought.  They  remembered 
how  the  whole  nation  had  suffered  for  the  sin  of 
one  man,  when  Achan  had  coveted  the  accursed 
thing,  and  how  much  more  should  the  defection  of 
two  and  a  half  tribes  draw  down  upon  them  the 
Divine  displeasure  ?  No,  it  must  not  be  allowed. 
The  whole  cono;regation  of  the  children  of  Israel 
gathered  themselves  together  at  Shiloh,  to  go  up  to 
war  against  them.  Before  proceeding  to  extremi- 
ties, however,  they  appointed  a  committee,  chosen 
from  the  first  families  of  the  nation,  to  prepare  and 
present  a  remonstrance  to  avert,  if  possible,  the 
shedding  of  blood,  and  bring  back  the  wanderers 
to  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  The  delegation 
departed,  came  to  their  brethren,  and  laid  the 
case  before  them  in  terms  of  spirited  and  indig- 
nant remonstrance.  "  What  trespass  is  this  that 
ye  have  committed  against  the  God  of  Israel," 
urge  these  Protestants,  "•  to  turn  away  this  day 
from  following  the  Lord,  in  that  ye  have  builded 
you  an  altar,  that  ye  might  rebel  this  day 
against  the  Lord  ?  "  They  bring  up  the  mischief 
that  followed  the  sin  of  Baal-peor.  They  insist  on 
the  essential  oneness  of  the  nation,  and  the  impos- 
sibility of  one  part's  sinning  without  all  parts  suf- 
fering in  consequence.  They  refer  to  Achan  as 
example  and  warning.     They  offer,  in  case  their 


CONTR  0  VERSIES.  237 

brethren  are  dissatisfied  witli  their  bargain,  to  gi^'e 
them  possessions  among  themselves,  even  at  this 
late  day.  It  is  an  admirable  address.  It  lacks 
only  one  thing.  That,  however,  chances  to  be 
the  thing  on  which  everything  else  hinges,  name- 
ly, an  inquiry  into  the  facts.  The  only  ground  of 
their  action  is  rumor.  "  The  children  of  Israel 
heard  say''^  so  and  so,  and,  instead  of  sending  to 
investigate  the  rumors,  assumed  the  rumors  to  be 
true,  and  sent  to  punish  the  sin.  It  is  a  wonder, 
indeed,  that  they  did  not  fight  first,  and  despatch 
their  messengers  afterwards.  As  it  was,  this  con- 
ference finished  the  matter.  One  word  from  the 
supposed  offenders  quashed  the  whole  proceedings. 
They  repelled  the  charge  with  the  most  impetuous 
eagerne-ss,  and  declared  that  they  abhorred  such  a 
sin  as  much  as  anybody.  "  The  Lord  God  of  gods, 
the  Lord  God  of  gods,  he  knoweth,  and  Israel  he 
shall  know  ;  if  it  be  in  rebellion,  or  if  in  transgres- 
sion against  the  Lord,  (save  us  not  this  day,)  that 
we  have  built  us  an  altar  to  turn  from  followins: 
the  Lord,  let  the  Lord  himself  require  it."  They 
go  on  to  show  that,  so  far  from  desiring  to  separate 
themselves  from  their  brethren,  and  turn  away 
from  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  they  have  built 
the  altar  expressly  to  keep  him  and  them  in  remem- 
brance, to  "  be  a  witness  between  us  and  you,  and 
our  generations  after  us,  that  your  children  may 
not  say  to  our  children  in  time  to  come.  Ye  have 
no  part  in  the  Lord  "  ;   for  this  altar,  the  pattern 


238  CONTROVERSIES. 

of  the  true  altar,  should  be  a  perpetual  witness 
of  their  unity. 

The  committee  were  extremely  delighted  that 
the  mountain  had  not  brought  forth  even  a  mouse. 
Probably  they  were  too  simple  even  to  feel  a  little 
crestfallen,  as  we  should  almost  think  they  would ; 
and  the  children  of  Israel  seem  to  have  received 
with  unmitigated  satisfaction  the  tidings  that  they 
had  made  much  ado  about  nothing,  and  to  have 
disbanded  their  forces,  and  blessed  God,  and  gone 
home  in  a  very  satisfactory  frame  of  mind. 

"  And  the  children  of  Reuben  and  the  children 
of  Gad  called  the  altar  Ed  ;  for  it  shall  be  a  wit- 
ness between  us  that  the  Lord  is  God." 

Guilt,  sin,  crime,  are  things  so  terrible,  that  we 
can  hardly  be  too  cautious  how  we  ascribe  them 
either  to  individuals  or  to  corporations.  These 
thino-s  are  not  done  in  a  corner.  Smithville  and 
Joneston  would  each,  perhaps,  give  scarcely  more 
than  a  vote  apiece,  if  it  were  to  divide  its  votes 
equally  among  the  Presidential  candidates  for  the 
coming  election,  and  whether  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Smithville  overpowers,  overreaches,  and 
swallows  up  the  Congregational  Church  of  Jones- 
ton,  or  whether  Joneston  carries  the  day  over 
Smithville,  is,  as  a  business  matter,  of  little  im- 
portance to  the  people  of  the  United  States ;  but 
we  are,  or  profess  to  be,  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
members  in  particular.  We  form  ourselves  into 
churches   expressly   to   cultivate    and   propagate 


CONTROVERSIES.  239 

the  religion  whose  rule  is  love.  If  we  cannot 
keep  ourselves  together  without  wrangling,  how 
can  we  bind  up  the  world  with  us  in  the  bundle 
of  life  ?  How  can  we  strike  hands  against  the 
enemy,  if  we  fall  out  and  chide  and  fight  among 
ourselves  ?  If  our  religion  has  not  vitality  enough 
to  allow  us  to  disagree  peacefully,  how  can  it  have 
enough  to  be  aggressive  ?  What  inducement 
shall  the  world  have  to  adopt  it,  if  it  cannot  keep 
the  churches  sweet  ? 

When  we  combat  a  man's  opinions,  let  us  be 
sure  that  we  combat  his  opinions,  and  not  a 
garbled  mockery  of  them.  We  cannot  be  too 
careful  against  misrepresentations.  Few  things 
are  more  exasperating  than  to  see  one's  views 
caricatured,  and  then  held  up  for  judgment,  and 
few  things  are  more  common  in  the  discussion  of 
opinions.  Our  Arminian  friend  alleges  that  the 
Calvinist  denies  free  agency,  —  an  absurdity  at 
which  the  Calvinist  would  laugh,  if  it  did  not  in- 
volve consequences  too  serious  for  laughter  ;  but 
our  Calvinist  friend  affirms  that  the  Unitarian  be- 
lieves Christ  to  be  a  mere  man,  —  an  assertion 
which  shocks  the  pious  Unitarian  almost  as  much 
as  it  does  the  pious  Trinitarian.  You  think  too 
many  novels  will  destroy  the  mind's  balance,  and 
your  friend  replies,  "  Ah  !  you  don't  believe  In 
cultivating  the  imagination,"  —  as  if  you  do  not 
approve  of  raising  hay  unless  you  lay  your  whole 
farm  down  to  grass.     You  defend  novels,  belie v- 


240  CONTROVERSIES, 

ing  tliem  capable  of  being  vehicles  of  truth,  and 
most  potent  preachers  of  righteousness,  and  are 
surprised  to  hear  yourself  quoted  by  the  inveterate 
and  wholesale  devourer  of  "  yellow-covered  liter- 
ature "  in  defence  of  his  course.  You  recom- 
mend travelling  to  the  hollow-eyed  student,  and 
are  gravely  informed  that  a  rolling  stone  gathers 
no  moss.  You  hint  to  your  peripatetic  friend, 
that  a  little  closer  acquaintance  with  the  philos- 
ophers would  aid  him  in  his  profession,  and  you 
are  met  with 

"  All  work  and  no  play- 
Makes  Jack  a  dull  boy." 

The  feehngs  awakened  are  such  as  would  be 
aroused,  if,  while  you  were  endeavoring  to  make 
parents  feel  the  necessity  of  pure  air,  warmer 
clothing,  simpler  food,  and  healthier  and  more 
obedient  habits  for  their  children,  some  one  should 
take  your  boy,  and  shave  his  head,  and  slit  his 
ears,  and  paint  his  rosy  cheeks  blue,  and  put  rings 
in  his  nose,  and  take  him  around  the  neighborhood 
as  a  specimen  of  the  result  of  your  system  of  phys- 
iology. "  Here  is  Mr.  Such-a-one's  boy !  This 
is  the  kind  of  child  his  method  turns  out.  This  is 
the  system,  fellow-citizens,  that  he  wants  us  to 
adopt.  Can't  we  do  better  than  this  with  our 
present  one  ?  "  Do  you  think  you  should  feel  that 
you  had  been  quite  fairly  dealt  by?  But  thoughts, 
opinions,  sentiments,  are  the  children  of  the  brain 
and  the  heart ;  should  not  their  integrity  be  just 


CONTROVERSIES.  241 

as  scrupulously  respected  ?  Besides,  if  you  un- 
dertake to  maletreat  a  child,  lie  can  scream  and 
writhe  and  kick,  and  give  you  a  deal  of  trouble ; 
but  a  thought,  a  sentence,  lies  passive  under  your 
pen-point.  You  can  mar  and  mutilate  and  mur- 
der, and  send  it  out  to  the  world,  and  silence  is  its 
only  protest. 

All  such  misrepresentations  must  have  origi- 
nated somewhere,  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe 
tJiat  they  all  arose  from  sheer  misapprehension. 
While  many  who  repeat  them  doubtless  believe 
them  sincerely,  it  seems  hardly  possible  but  that 
some  have  repeated  them  who  do  not  believe  them. 
Unquestionably  many  of  our  Southern  brethren 
really  fear  that  the  triumph  of  Republican  princi- 
ples will  inaugurate  fire  and  sword  and  general 
ruin  ;  but  is  it  possible  that  those  who  have  stood 
nearest  to  the  Republican  party,  and  had  every 
opportunity  to  inform  themselves  of  its  character, 
have  fallen  into  such  a  delusion  from  want  of  sim- 
ple apprehension  ?  We  do  not  severely  blame 
the  masses  for  not  knowing,  for  such  knowledge 
is  with  them  subordinate,  but  we  do  blame  the 
politicians,  for  it  is  their  business  to  know.  So  in 
theology  ;  the  shoemaker,  and  the  tailor,  and  the 
milHner,  do  not  generally  —  and  it  is  not  essential 
that  they  should  —  investigate  for  themselves  the 
doctrines  of  the  different  sects.  They  derive  their 
impressions  largely  from  their  theological  teach- 
ers, and  if  their  impressions  are  wrong,  they  are 
11  p 


242  CONTROVERSIES. 

scarcely  to  be  blamed.  It  is  the  ministers,  who 
are  expected  to  be  conversant  with  such  things,  — 
the  speakers  and  writers,  who  ought  to  know 
whereof  they  affirm  before  they  affirm  it,  —  with 
whom  the  blame  chiefly  rests.  It  is  no  fault  in  a 
clergyman  not  to  be  aware  that  a  gridiron  is  not  a 
toasting-fork ;  nor  is  it  necessarily  a  fault  in  his 
cook  to  think  Universalists  and  infidels  the  same 
thing.  Neither  is  responsible  for  the  knowledge 
that  belongs  to  the  other's  department,  but  igno- 
rance in  his  own  is  a  folly  and  shame  to  him. 
Worse  still  is  it  to  palm  off  his  ignorance  upon 
others  for  wisdom.  It  is  not  only  folly,  but  sin. 
Educated  men  have,  in  the  first  place,  no  right  to 
be  so  narrow-minded.  You  excuse  it  in  those 
whose  horizon  has  been  limited  ;  but  colleges  are 
built,  and  tutors  appointed,  and  boys  introduced 
to  the  wise  men  of  old  days  and  new,  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  taking  broad  views,  —  of  becom- 
ing liberal,  catholic,  comprehensive.  If,  however, 
notwithstanding  all  this,  they  are  narrow-minded, 
let  them,  if  possible,  keep  it  to  themselves.  Do 
not  let  them  preach  their  narrowness  to  others, 
calling  it  orthodoxy  or  piety.  It  is  bad  enough 
for  a  man  to  pluck  out  his  eyes.  It  is  worse  for 
him  to  pretend  that  he  can  see,  to  a  man  born 
blind,  and  so  lead  him  with  himself  into  the  ditch. 
Language  is  often  ambiguous.  Misunderstand- 
ing is  often  honest.  Clear  undei^tanding  is  some- 
times next  to  impossible.     With  the  utmost  care, 


CONTR  0  VERSIES.  243 

and  with  conscientious  intent,  we  do  not  always 
arrive  at  the  undisguised  idea.  If  a  man  wishes  to 
be  stupid,  he  has  every  opportunity.  If  he  chooses 
to  beheve  that  his  opponent  maintains  that  black 
is  white,  it  is  altogether  probable  that  he  will  be 
able  to  believe  so.  But  language  is  not  so  ambig- 
uous but  that,  if  we  try  with  sincere  purpose  and 
fixed  attention  to  get  at  what  a  man  means,  we 
shall  in  the  main  succeed,  —  at  least  enough  for 
all  practical  purposes.  Intelligence  is  more  un- 
der the  control  of  the  will  than  many  suspect. 
Will  to  see  clearly.  Determine  to  understand 
quickly  and  correctly.  Make  a  point  of  appre- 
hending other  people's  views.  Be  sure  you  are 
right  before  you  go  ahead.  But  if  we  are  more 
intent  on  proving  our  own  zeal,  displaying  our  own 
keenness,  building  up  our  own  cause,  than  we  are 
at  getting  at  the  truth,  we  shall  do  harm,  —  and 
be  verily  guilty,  not  only  concerning  our  brother, 
but  concerning  ourselves  and  God. 

I  do  not  mean  to  decry  religious,  theological,  or 
ecclesiastical  controversies.  They  are  important 
elucidators  of  the  truth.  In  the  present  state  of 
religious  knowledge,  and  probably  for  hundreds 
of  years  to  come,  a  church  without  controversy 
wiU  be  a  church  without  vitality.  It  is  by  sharp 
collision  that  the  sparks  of  truth  are  struck  out. 
Let  us  deal  heavy  blows  and  a  good  many  of  them, 
only  let  us  bring  down  our  sledge-hammers  on  the 
anvil  where  lies  the  truth  that  is  to  be  shaped,  and 


244  CONTROVERSIES. 

not  aim  them  at  each  other's  skulls,  —  which  is 
neither  pleasmg  to  God  nor  edifying  to  man,  nor 
favorable  to  the  elimination  of  truth. 

Let  us  also  give  more  latitude  to  the  brains  of 
our  brethren.  We  are  very  apt  to  attribute  dif- 
ference of  opinion  to  the  wrong  source.  We  allot 
to  the  heart  the  responsibility  that  belongs  only  to 
the  head.  If  a  man  thinks  It  is  right  to  do  what 
we  think  it  Is  wrong  to  do,  we  call  It  self-indul- 
gence. If  he  refrains  from  doing  what  we  allow 
ourselves  to  do,  we  call  it  austerity.  A  good 
many  of  the  rank  and  file  of  che  Orthodox  army, 
not  to  say  a  leader  here  and  there,  will  hardly 
admit  that  Unlversallsts  and  Unitarians  have  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  man  just  as  much 
at  heart  as  have  the  Orthodox.  There  are  still 
extant  many  Congregatlonallsts  who  can  by  no 
means  reconcile  cards  and  piety.  Christ  has  some 
very  little  ones  who  think  dancing  not  quite  so 
atrocious  as  murder  in  the  first  degree  ;  and  there 
are  who  believe  that  he  that  doubteth  any  of  the 
Five  Points  or  the  Thhty-nlne  Articles  Is  about 
as  good  as  damned.  Hear  what  the  Apostle 
Paul  saith :  — 

"  Who  art  thou  that  judgest  another  man's  ser- 
vant ?  To  his  own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth. 
Yea,  he  shall  be  holden  up ;  for  God  is  able  to 
make  him  stand 

"  But  why  dost  thou  judge  thy  brother  ?  Or 
why  dost  thou  set  at  naught  thy  brother?     For 


CONTROVERSIES.  245 

we   shall   all    stand    before   the  judgment-seat  of 

Christ So,  then,  every  one  of  us  shall  give 

account  of  himself  to  God.  Let  us  not,  there- 
fore, judge  one  another  any  more." 

The  Apostle  cannot  mean  that  we  are  to  form 
no  opinion  of  our  neighbor,  for  it  is  not  in  the  na- 
ture of  things  that  a  man  should  walk  in  and  out 
before  a  community  ten,  twenty,  thirty  years, 
without  leaving  an  impression. 

What,  then,  does  he  mean  ? 

If  we  turn  to  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Romans 
we  shall  find  that  he  is  talking  about  difference  of 
opinion  in  minor  matters.  One  believes  that  the 
ritual.  Mosaic  law  is  still  m  force,  and  he  is  accord- 
ingly observant  of  days  and  meats.  Another  be- 
lieves it  to  be  abrogated,  and  considers  all  days 
alike,  and  all  meats  clean  ;  but  the  Apostle,  with 
characteristic  liberahty,  defends  both  sides.  "  If 
you  think  it  is  wrong  to  eat  meat,  eat  it  not, 
only  do  not  call  him  who  does  eat,  a  pagan.  If 
you  think  it  is  right  to  eat  it,  eat,  but  do  not  call 
him  who  abstains  a  stickler.  Look  somewhat  be- 
hind deeds  to  motives,  and  know  that  in  certain 
regards  the  truest  piety  is  consistent  with  opposite 
beliefs  and  actions." 

We  need  Paul's  large-hearted  wisdom  quite  as 
much  as  did  those  old  Romans. 

Shibboleth  is  a  very  good  test-word,  if  you  only 
want  to  find  out  whether  a  man  is  an  Ephraimite  ; 
but  it  does  not  help  to  distinguish  between  Jew 
and  Gentile. 


246  CONTROVERSIES. 

"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved,"  is  the  simple  and  succinct  theory 
of  the  Christian  religion.  "  Pure  religion  and 
undefiled  before  God  and  the  Father  is  this,  to 
visit  the  fatherless  and  the  widow  in  their  affliction, 
and  to  keep  himself  unspotted  from  the  world," 
are  the  two  lines  of  its  practice,  —  charity  and  pu- 
rity. Eighteen  hundred  years  ago  a  voice  was 
heard  crying  in  the  wilderness  of  Judeea,  "  Bring 
forth  fruits  worthy  of  repentance  " ;  and  when  the 
people,  ignorant,  asked,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 
the  voice  replied,  "  He  that  hath  tw^o  coats,  let 
him  impart  to  him  that  hath  none  ;  and  he  that 
hath  meat,  let  him  do  likewise."  And  the  publi- 
cans said,  "  What  shall  we  do  ?  "  And  the  voice 
replied,  "  Exact  no  more  than  that  which  is  ap- 
pomted  you."  And  the  soldiers  asked,  ''What 
shall  we  do  ?  "  And  the  reply  was,  "  Do  vio- 
lence to  no  man,  neither  accuse  any  falsely  ;  and 
be  content  with  your  wages."  So  everywhere 
throughout  the  New  Testament,  shades  of  doc- 
trine, forms  of  worship,  are  of  less  account  than 
the  deeds  of  every-day  life.  In  the  twelfth  chap- 
ter of  Romans  we  have  a  beautiful  presentation  of 
the  sacrifice  which  is  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God. 
There  is  a  sketch,  limned  by  a  Divine  hand,  of  a 
true  Christian  community.  Yet  w^e  greatly  fear 
that  it  is  a  study,  and  not  a  portrait. 

Theology,  the  science  of  God,  is  a  sublime  and 
infinite  thing.     Earth  serves  for  a  beginning,  but 


CONTROVERSIES.  247 

eternity  can  give  no  end.  Yet  with  incredible 
self-confidence  we  lay  down  our  propositions, 
affirm  our  belief  therein,  and  drag  up  our  breth- 
ren to  the  mark.  Now  God  has  revealed  to  us 
certain  great  facts  and  principles  —  quite  enough 
for  our  guidance  in  this  world,  quite  enough  for 
our  entrance  into  a  happier  —  in  letters  of  living 
light,  which  all  may  read  ;  but  after  all,  great  is 
the  mystery  of  godliness.  The  Bible  is  the  per- 
fect work  of  an  Infinite  Being ;  but  we  bring  to 
it  the  imperfect  strength  of  finite  minds.  We 
may  study  facts  and  draw  inferences,  but  the- 
ological science  is  not  susceptible  of  mathematical 
demonstration.  He  who  brings  to  the  investi2;a- 
tion  humility,  thirst  for  knowledge,  love  to  God 
and  man,  will  eventually  find  the  hidden  truth, 
the  pearl  of  great  price  ;  and  he  who  brings 
haughtiness,  a  belief  full-formed,  a  prejudiced 
mind,  and  seeks  only  confirmation,  will  also  find 
what  he  seeks,  —  confirmation.  Truth  will  "not 
unsought  be  won,"  nor  will  she  be  wooed  by  proxy. 
It  would  have  been  just  as  easy  for  God  to  reveal 
everything,  as  to  reveal  a  part,  —  to  reveal  it  be- 
yond the  possibility  of  misconception,  as  to  reveal 
it  as  it  is.  As  it  is,  the  best  men  in  all  ages  have 
differed  regarding  some  of  its  teachings ;  and  this 
fact  indicates  that  tlie  Bible  is  a  part  of  the 
machinery  of  God's  .moral  government.  By  the 
way  in  which  we  receive  and  study  it  shall  our 
disposition  towards  him,  in  part,  be  judged.     Let 


248  CONTROVERSIES. 

us,  therefore,  be  charitable  towards  those  who 
differ  from  us.  Original  structure,  education, 
surroundings,  give  to  every  mind  its  own  indi- 
viduaHty.  Through  its  own  peculiar  atmosphere 
God  shines  upon  every  heart.  To  one,  clouds 
and  darkness  are  round  about  Him;  to  another, 
He  dwells  "  never  but  in  unapproached  light." 

All  young  people  who  do  their  own  thinking,  or 
any  considerable  part  of  it,  are  liable  to  be  more  or 
less  troubled  with  doubts.  They  pass  through  an 
attack  of  heresies  almost  as  regularly  as  through 
the  measles  ;  in  fact,  the  one  bears  about  the  same 
relation  to  the  soul  that  the  other  does  to  the  body  ; 
neither  being  dangerous,  if  well  treated,  both  ca- 
pable of  causing  the  greatest  injury  if  carelessly  or 
ignorantly  managed. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  doubters  among  the 
young ;  one  the  bright,  active,  "  smart  fellow," 
who  wishes  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that  he 
is  not  going  to  believe  that  two  and  two  make 
four  simply  because  his  father  did.  He  insists  on 
a  demonstration  of  it  to  his  own  satisfaction,  and, 
if  you  cannot  demonstrate  it  to  him,  and  there  is 
evidence  that  two  and  two  make  five,  he  will  be- 
lieve that  two  and  two  make  five,  notwithstanding 
the  arithmetics.  For  that  matter,  the  very  fact 
that  all  arithmetics  have  hitherto  made  and  main- 
tained this  assertion,  is  rather  a  reason  to  him  why 
he  should  not  believe  it,  —  at  least,  it  gives  him  a 
lively  desire  not  to  believe  it.    He  wishes  the  world 


CONTROVERSIES.  249 

and  posterity  to  be  aware  that  his  is  an  original 
mind,  looking  at  things  as  they  are,  and  not  at 
thincrs  as  ''  old  fogies  "  see  them.  His  doubts  are 
consequently  brought  forward  promiscuously,  pub- 
licly, on  the  slightest  provocation.  It  gratifies 
him  to  have  an  opportunity  —  or  to  make  one  — 
to  show  the  investigating,  independent,  fearless 
turn  of  his  mind.  Noi  that  he  is  not  a  very  fine 
young  person.  He  may  be  really  promising  and 
superior.  It  is  a  more  hopeful  sign  in  a  young  man 
to  be  too  stirring,  than  too  stagnant.  It  is  natural 
for  old  men  to  err  on  the  side  of  conservatism,  for 
young,  on  the  side  of  radicalism  ;  and  it  is  unnat- 
ural for  them  to  change  places.  When  college,  or 
contact  with  men  and  affairs,  has  taken  the  conceit 
out  of  our  young  friend,  and  the  furnace  of  afilic- 
tion  has  purified  him,  and  time  has  enlarged  his 
vision  and  matured  his  judgment,  he  will  be  an 
excellent  citizen,  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  Church, 
—  if  he  is  but  decently  well  manipulated. 

The  second  doubter  is  quieter,  graver,  more  reti- 
cent. You  may  live  a  year  with  him,  and  not 
discover  that  he  does  not  go  along  your  highway, 
but  strikes  out  into  little  by-paths  of  his  own.  His 
differences  from  your  opinion  are  modestly  and 
hesitatingly  spoken,  generally  unpremeditated,  or 
divulged  by  accident,  or  perhaps  timidly  suggested 
to  you  in  half-way  hints,  with  a  vague  hope  that 
you  may  come  to  the  rescue.  They  almost  sadden 
him.  It  is  a  sacrifice  to  him  to  be  obliged  to  go 
11* 


250  CONTROVERSIES. 

contrary  to  the  traditions  of  the  elders.  He  wishes 
that  he  could  believe  implicitly  everything  which 
he  has  been  taught.  His  doubts  are  real  diffi- 
culties. 

In  both  these  cases,  it  is  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance, though  for  different  reasons,  that  the  per- 
son or  persons  to  whom  such  doubts  are  expressed, 
should  not  seem  nor  be  shocked,  nor  startled,  nor 
surprised.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  just  wliat  the 
first  young  person  wants.  Nothing  would  please 
him  better  than  to  thow  a  shell  into  the  orthodox 
camp,  and  see  it  burst  and  scatter  the  orthodox 
in  all  directions.  Nothing  will  take  the  wind  out 
of  his  sails  more  effectually,  than  to  have  you 
go  up  to  his  tremendous  shell  and  turn  it  over, 
and  roll  it  about  playfully,  and  demonstrate  that, 
after  all,  it  is  only  a  harmless  football,  —  you 
have  seen  scores  of  them  in  your  day,  —  in  fact, 
patronized  them  yourself,  when  you  were  young. 
Finding  that  he  does  not  make  a  sensation  will 
presently  cure  him  of  trying  to  make  sensations, 
and  the  desire  to  make  them  will  die  out  alto- 
gether before  long. 

It  is  absolutely  essential,  however,  that  you  re- 
ceive the  second  young  person  with  an  unruffled 
deportment.  You  are  not  to  be  shocked,  first, 
because  if  you  are,  you  will  repulse  him,  and 
secondly,  because  there  really  is  nothing  shock- 
ing about  it.  The  Christian  religion  is  full  of 
mysteries.     The  Bible  is  a   quarry  of   truth,  in 


CONTROVERSIES.  251 

wliich  men  have  been  digging  for  centuries,  and 
have  brought  up  many  a  massive  block,  most  of 
which  are,  as  yet,  but  blocks,  irregular  and  un- 
couth. Comparatively  few  have  been  carved  into 
shapely  statues,  that  can  delight  the  eye  and  sat- 
isfy the  soul.  One  looks  farther  into  the  future 
than  another.  You  see  the  Apollo  hidden  in  the 
marble,  but  your  young  friend  sees  only  a  jagged 
fragment ;  and  there  is  nothing  that  need  surprise 
you  in  his  limited  vision.  To  be  shocked,  and  to 
let  him  see  that  you  think  him  on  the  high  road 
to  Infidelity  and  Atheism  because  he  cannot  look 
upon  this,  that,  and  the  other  as  you  do,  —  because 
he  cannot  reconcile  seeming  discrepancies,  nor 
prevent  their  troubling  him,  —  is  the  sure  way  to 
drive  him  headlong  into  the  very  slough  of  Infi- 
delity. He  knows  that  he  is  sincerely  seeking  the 
truth.  He  knows  that  he  is  not  only  willmg,  but 
anxious,  to  believe  in  the  Bible  ;  and  to  have  you 
start  back  in  horror  at  his  explorations,  and  hint 
of  rationalism  and  free-thinking  and  shipwreck, 
not  only  disgusts  him,  but  has  a  strong  tendency 
to  throw  discredit  on  a  Bible  which  cannot  stand 
the  test  of  sound  reasoning  and  careful  inquiry  ; 
tnd  so  his  mole-hills  are  magnified  into  mountains 
of  difficulty.  To  be  sure,  it  is  you  that  are  weak 
in  the  faith,  not  the  Bible  ;  but  he,  as  well  as 
many  who  are  older  and  wiser  than  he,  is  very  apt 
to  confound  a  cause  with  its  supporters,  and  to 
make  the  weakness  of  the  latter  an  indication  of 


252  CONTROVERSIES. 

the  weakness  of  the  former.  He  will,  perhaps, 
never  again  mention  the  subject  to  you,  but,  kept 
back  in  the  recesses  of  his  own  mind,  it  will  loom 
up  a  hideous  monster,  while,  if  you  had  brought 
it  out  into  the  light,  it  would  have  roared  him  as 
gently  as  a  sucking  dove. 

The  true  way  is  to  receive  him  kindly,  and  draw 
out  his  thoughts  freely  and  fully.  If  he  has  diffi- 
culties which  you  can  explain  thoroughly,  explain 
them,  but  do  not  attempt  to  do  so  unless,  before 
you  begin,  you  are  quite  sure  that  you  can  finish. 
An  explanation  that  does  not  explain,  is  a  thousand 
times  worse  than  none  ;  while  few  things  will  give 
him  more  confidence  in  himself  and  you  and  the 
Bible  than  for  you  frankly  to  say,  *'  That  point  is 
indeed  hard  to  be  understood.  I  do  not  fully  com- 
prehend it  myself,  but  it  does  not  trouble  me.  I 
have  put  it  aside  as  one  of  those  things  that  we 
know  not  now,  but  shall  know  hereafter."  Lay 
it  down  at  the  outset  that  nobody  is  responsible  for 
the  Bible.  Nobody  is  under  bonds  to  make  its 
different  parts  adjust  themselves.  It  is  God's  book, 
and  its  harmony  is  his  aifair,  not  ours.  Our  busi- 
ness is  to  study  and  practise  it.  If  any  one  chooses 
to  harmonize  Geology  and  Genesis,  or  the  Law 
and  the  Gospel,  very  well.  It  will  doubtless  do 
much  good  in  the  way  of  removing  stumbhng- 
blocks,  and,  as  a  missionary  work,  is  well  worth 
while.  But  to  do  it  for  the  Bible's  sake,  is  ab- 
surd, —  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  that  sort  of 


CONTROVERSIES.  253 

tiling  done.  One  would  think  that  the  Bible  Avas 
gotten  up  hj  a  conspiracy  of  Christians,  who  felt 
bound  to  sustain  it,  and  that  if  all  its  crooked  pla- 
ces were  not  made  straight,  it  would  go  by  the 
board.  Do  not  you  fall  into  this  mistake  with 
your  ingenuous  and  doubting  friend.  Let  him 
see  that  you,  for  one,  believe  in  the  Bible  thor- 
oughly, —  believe  in  its  Divine  origin  and  self-sus- 
taining power,  and  that  it  will  go  on  a  year  or  two 
longer,  even  if  you  cannot  put  everything  right. 
Your  confidence  will  be  contamous.  He  will  in- 
stinctively  feel  that  a  cause  which  gives  its  friends 
so  little  anxiety,  must  have  an  inward  strength. 
Teach  him  also  how  to  take  his  reckonings,  by 
showing  him  that  our  opinions  generally  are  but 
the  balance  of  probabihties,  and  that  we  believe 
the  Bible,  notwithstanding  its  obscurities  and  ap- 
parent discrepancies,  just  as  we  believe  a  great 
many  other  things,  because  it  is  far  easier  to 
believe  than  to  disbelieve  ;  but  do  not  for  a  mo- 
ment suppose  that  you  are  advancing  the  cause 
of  truth  by  denying  that  it  is  beset  with  difficul- 
ties, or  by  ridiculing  or  repelling  those  who  cannot 
fail  to  discern  them. 

I  do  not  admit  that  it  is  of  no  consequence  what 
a  man's  behef  is,  if  he  is  only  sincere  in  it.  So  far 
as  a  man's  belief  affects  his  character  and  conduct, 
it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  he  believe 
right,  as  I  shall  presently  attempt  to  show ;  and  a 
belief  that  does  not  affect  the  character  and  con- 


254  CONTROVERSIES. 

duct  needs  to  be  looked  into  at  once.  There  is  a 
definite  boundary-line  between  truth  and  false- 
hood, and  he  who  stops  short  of  it,  or  goes  beyond 
it,  is  in  danger.  Particularly  in  matters  that  di- 
rectly pertain  to  our  eternal  well-being  should  we 
see  to  it  that  we  do  not  build  on  the  sand;  but 
this  does  not  justify  us  in  breaking  our  neighbor's 
windows,  or  calling  our  neighbor  hard  names  every 
time  we  see  him  at  the  front  door,  even  if  he  has 
cjiosen  a  sand  rather  than  a  rock  foundation  ;  and 
especially  is  this  true  if,  as  is  often  the  case,  we 
have  never  seen  his  underpinning,  but  only  know 
it  by  hearsay,  or  inferentially. 

Moreover,  it  is  unquestionably  true  that  the 
reason  why  many  of  us  have  no  doubts,  is  because 
we  have  no  thoughts.  We  hold  the  truth  in  our 
hands.  We  call  it  ours.  We  toss  it  playfully 
hither  and  thither.  It  is  to  us  an  heirloom  trans- 
mitted with  the  family  name  ;  but  we  have  never 
penetrated  the  crust  of  words,  to  the  idea  that  lives 
and  glows  and  throbs  beneath ;  while  our  doubt- 
ing, wavering  brother,  on  whom  we  look  coldly 
and  distrustfully,  more  earnest  and  searching  than 
we,  has  rent  off  the  casings,  and  the  iron  has  en- 
tered into  his  soul,  fierce,  burning,  scarifying. 
Shall  we  scorn  ?     Shall  we  not  rather  reverence  ? 

For  him  who  speaks  flippantly  of  commonly  held 
beliefs,  —  who  carelessly  flings  out  doubts,  and 
affects  indifference  or  contempt  of  them,  —  for  the 
sake  of  an  appearance  of  greater  independence  and 


CONTROVERSIES.  255 

free-thinking,  but  who  is  equally  a  stranger  to 
conscientious  belief  and  conscientious  doubt,  one 
has  small  sympathy,  —  yet  pity  even  for  him. 
But  for  the  serious  mind,  struggling  in  mists  and 
darkness,  thouojh  the  darkness  be  his  own  sins 
rising  up  like  a  cloud  between  his  soul  and  God, 
we  cannot  have  too  great  a  liberality,  too  warm 
a  tenderness.  We  cannot  roll  the  cloud  away, 
but  we  can  give  him  a  helping  hand  ;  or,  if  he 
refuse  the  proffered  hand,  we  can  still  pray  to 
Him  to  whom  the  darkness  and  the  light  are  both 
alike. 

Particularly  let  us  be  careful  how  we  bandy  epi- 
thets. Let  us  beware  that  we  give  no  opprobrious 
name  to  one  who,  loving  God,  and  striving  con- 
tinually to  serve  him,  is  overwhelmed  by  a  host  of 
Satan's  legions,  —  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed. 
Far  more  justly  should  we  reproach  him  who,  pro- 
fessing to  sit  in  the  full  glory  of  the  holy  of  ho- 
lies, has  only  reproach  and  contumely  for  those 
who  are  still  groping  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death. 

Standing  on  the  hill-top,  bathed  in  the  full  splen- 
dor of  God  the  Creator,  of  Christ  the  Sufferer 
and  the  Saviour,  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Mediator 
and  Intercessor,  our  souls  are  wafted  up  into  the 
region  of  faith  and  rapture,  and  we  shout,  exult- 
ant, "  Lord,  I  believe  !  "  but  down  in  the  valley, 
among  the  dry,  dead  bones,  delving  in  the  deep 
recesses  of  our  own  hearts,  awed  by  the  evil  that 


256  CONTROVERSIES. 

broods,  gloomy  and  shadowy,  over  the  world,  our 
highest  effort  is  to  cry,  with  tear-streaming  eyes 
and  quivering  lips,  ''Help  thou  mine  unbelief!  " 

It  is  unspeakably  pleasant  to  know  that,  amid 
all  the  clash  and  clangor,  one  clear  song  of  victory 
pours  continually  up  to  God.  With  a  thousand 
hesitations  and  blunders,  with  all  the  bickering  of 
evil  passions,  there  is  a  steady  progress  towards 
the  heights  of  Christian  concord. 

"  It  does  move  though,"  was  the  indignant  pro- 
test of  Galileo's  unconquered  and  unconquerable 
conviction,  when  Gahleo's  timorous  lips  had  weak- 
ly renounced  the  new-born  truth.  Ignorance 
would  have  remanded  the  woi?ld  back  to  its 
pristine  immobility,  and  swept  the  sun  around 
it  as  aforetime ;  but  the  elastic  and  invincible 
truth  sprang  up  from  beneath  the  weight  of 
priestcraft  and  tyranny,  and  asserted  itself  in 
unshorn  strength. 

The  world  does  move.  All  along  the  road,  in 
the  World  and  in  the  Church,  are  way-marks  of 
its  progress.  Old  hypotheses  that  were  the  husks 
of  truths  or  refuges  of  errors,  old  hatred  that  a 
closer  acquaintance  has  cast  oif,  old  inventions  that 
were  but  the  first  essays  of  genius,  scattered  broad- 
cast, mark  its  grand,  triumphal  march.  Retro- 
gressions there  are,  and  weary  wanderings  in 
wildernesses,  and  many  a  sluggish  halt,  but  the 
Lord  has  spoken  to  the  children  of  men,  and  they 
go  forward. 


CONTR  0  VERSIES.  257 

Some  thirty  or  forty  years  before  a  star  guided 
the  wise  men  to  the  cradle  of  the  baby- Christ,  there 
was  living  in  Rome  a  gay,  generous  young  gen- 
tleman, whose  name  is  still  held  in  pleasant  re- 
membrance. Possessed  of  an  ample  fortune,  a 
part  of  the  year  was  spent  in  town,  and  a  part  in 
the  retirement  of  his  Sabine  farm  ;  but  whether 
amid  the  gayeties  of  the  metropolis,  or  by  the 
murmur  of  the  Bandusian  spring,  or  at  the  fre- 
quented baths  of  Baiae  on  the  shore  of  the  many- 
sounding  sea,  his  wit,  his  education,  his  accom- 
plishments, and  his  elegance  drew  around  him 
the  most  fashionable,  intellectual,  and  cultivated 
society  of  Italy  ;  and  to  this  day  he  keeps  his  place 
in  the  front  rank  of  lyric  poets. 

Yet  this  scholar  and  gentleman,  so  polished,  so 
refined,  on  the  occasion  of  the  departure  to  Greece 
of  a  gentleman  whom  he  perhaps  justly  disliked, 
published  a  poem  in  which  he  begged  the  winds 
to  remember  to  lash  the  sides  of  his  foe's  ship  with 
frightful  waves,  to  snap  his  ropes  and  break  his 
oars,  and  hide  with  cloud  every  friendly  star.  He 
gloats  over  the  fruitless  toil  of  that  foe's  sailors,  the 
deadly  pallor  of  his  face,  and  his  unmanly  wail- 
ings  and  prayers  for  succor,  and  closes  by  vowing 
a  thank-offering  to  the  gods,  if  the  man  shall  per- 
ish shipwrecked  on  a  hostile  shore  !  And  nobody 
seems  to  have  taken  exception  to  it.  Suppose 
Longfellow,  or  Lowell,  or  Whittier,  should  write 
such  a  poem   to  a  political  or  personal    enemy, 


258  CONTROVERSIES. 

what  measure  would  tliey  receive  from  "  our  best 
society"? 

Sixteen  hundred  years  later,  Milton,  a  man 
whose  fame  no  words  can  illustrate,  in  his  po- 
litical controversies  indulged  in  a  fierceness  and 
coarseness  of  invective,  which  are  banished  now 
to  the  very  purlieus  of  civilization.  In  his  answer 
to  Salmasius,  epithets  of  opprobrium  and  scorn  are 
heaped  up  page  after  page.  "  So  little,"  he  says, 
"  do  we  fear,  you  slug  you,  any  war  or  danger 
through  your  silly  rhetoric."  "  You,  in  the  mean 
time,  you  silly  loggerhead,  deserve  to  have  your 
bones  well  thrashed  with  a  fool's  staff."  "  Meddle 
with  your  own  matters,  you  runagate,  and  be 
ashamed  of  your  actions,  since  the  Church  is 
ashamed  of  you."  "  Speak  out,  you  wretch,  and 
never  mince  the  matter."  "  And  when  they  have 
been  an  (Edipus  to  you,  by  my  consent  you  shall 
be  a  Sphinx  to  them  in  good  earnest,  and  throw 
yourself  headlong  from  some  precipice  or  other, 
and  break  your  neck."  "  I  am  weary  of  mention- 
ing your  lies,  and  ashamed  of  them."  "  You  im- 
pudent liar,  what  mortal  ever  heard  this  whimsy 
before  you  invented  it?"  "You  rascal,  was  it 
not  for  this  that  you,  a  renegade  grammarian,  were 
so  forward  to  intermeddle  ?  "  "I  think  that  the 
best  course  you  can  take  will  be,  for  this  long  book 
that  you  have  writ,  to  take  a  halter  and  make 
one  long  letter  of  yourself"  And  this  silly  log- 
gerhead, and  runagate,  and  rascal,  and  liar,  was 


CONTROVERSIES.  259 

no  malefactor,  but  Salmasius  of  Leyden,  generally 
accounted  the  first  scholar  of  his  age.  We  have 
sharp  political  and  theological  controversies  now, 
but  nothing  equal  to  this.  The  world  does  move. 
What  was  Piccadilly  then,  is  Billingsgate  now. 
The  leaven  has  worked,  refining  our  language, 
softening  our  manners,  and,  may  we  not  say  ? 
elevating  our  hearts. 


IX. 


AMUSEMENTS. 


YOUNG  lady  once  remarked,  that 
she  should  like  to  be  a  Christian,  but 
she  did  not  think  she  could  give  up 
balls. 

This  is  an  indication  of  the  reason  why  many  do 
not  set  about  becoming  Christians.  They  draw  a 
line.  On  one  side  is  rehgion  ;  on  the  other  side 
happiness.  If  they  take  religion,  they  take  safety 
for  the  next  world,  but  a  cheerless  kind  of  happi- 
ness for  the  remainder  of  this.  If  they  take  hap- 
piness, they  take  a  gay,  pleasant,  agreeable  life 
for  this  world,  but  run  a  risk  for  the  next.  A 
bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush,  and 
they,  naturally  enough,  decide  to  make  sure  of 
this  life  at  any  rate,  and  sufficient  unto  the  next 
life  are  the  evils  thereof.  They  do  not  know  much 
about  that  future  w^orld,  but  they  do  know  the 
present.  They  will  keep  what  they  get,  and  get 
what  they  can ;  and  in  a  measure  they  are  right. 


AMUSEMENTS.  261 

Certain  present  happiness  is  better  than  uncertain 
future  happiness.  It  stands  to  reason  that  the 
present,  actual  world,  the  world  we  were  born  into, 
the  world  we  are  now  living  in,  is  the  world  with 
which  we  are  chiefly  concerned.  The  future 
world  will  have  its  own  conditions,  its  own  duties ; 
but  they  will  not  devolve  upon  us  till  we  get 
through  with  this.  It  is  our  business  to  do  the 
duties  of  this  world,  and  it  is  our  right  to  enjoy 
its  pleasures.  I,  for  one,  should  very  much  mis- 
trust any  man  who  should  put  heaven's  work  in 
place  of  earth's  work ;  or  who  should  promise 
happiness  in  the  next  world  only  at  the  sacrifice 
of  happiness  in  this. 

But  it  is  not  so.  These  people  make  a  mistake. 
The  beauty  of  true,  Evangelical,  Gospel  religion 
—  of  Christ-religion  —  is  that  it  is  a  religion  for 
this  world,  —  this  busy,  gay,  social,  active,  living, 
present  world.  Not  that  it  is  confined  to  this. 
By  no  means.  It  lights  up  the  dim  aisles  of  the 
past  and  of  the  future,  revealing  to  us  all  we  know 
of  the  glory  that  has  been,  and  promising  us  a 
glory  yet  to  be  revealed,  such  as  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  nor  heart  of  man  conceived.  Glo- 
rious things  it  speaks  to  us  for  our  comfort ;  —  of  a 
golden  city,  clear  as  crystal,  unto  which  the  kings 
of  the  earth  shall  bring  their  glory  and  their  hon- 
or ;  of  many  mansions  prepared  for  us  therein  by 
the  Lord  of  light ;  of  a  life  into  which  shall  no 
more  enter  anything  that  defileth,  nor  any  sorrow, 


262  AMUSEMENTS. 

or  crying,  or  pain,  or  death.  All  this  it  promises 
us  for  an  incitement,  and  the  loss  of  all  this  for  a 
warning ;  yet  its  present,  its  great,  I  had  almost 
said  its  chief  value,  is  not  in  the  future,  but  in 
what  it  is  doing  for  us  every  day.  It  is  of  inesti- 
mable price  in  this  life,  as  well  as  in  that  which  is 
to  come.  It  is  good  for  us  in  this  world,  even  if 
there  were  no  other.  The  virtues  which  it  enjoins 
fit  us  not  only  for  heaven,  but  for  earth.  They 
are  not  only  pure,  but  profitable.  They  are  due 
not  only  to  Chi'istianity,  but  to  humanity.  What- 
ever a  man  ought  to  do  because  he  is  a  Chris- 
tian, he  ought  to  do  because  he  is  a  man.  What- 
ever wrongs  his  Christianity  wrongs  his  manhood. 
Everything  that  is  unchristian  is  impolitic.  Sin  is 
not  only  sinful.  But  it  does  not  pay.  Any  act  that 
transgresses  God's  moral  law  is  a  poor  business 
calculation.  Whatever  increases  a  man's  value 
in  the  Church,  increases  his  value  in  the  World. 
The  better  the  Christian,  the  better  the  citizen. 
In  proportion  as  bankers  and  brokers  and  mer- 
chants become  true  Christians,  will  business  be  put 
on  a  sure  footing.  Christian  principles  are  the 
best  possible  basis  for  a  business  character. 

So  with  the  happiness  of  religion.  It  will  take 
us  to  heaven,  but  we  shall  not  have  to  wait  till  we 
get  to  heaven  before  we  get  any  pleasure  out  of  it. 
It  pays  as  it  goes.  It  is  a  comfort  and  a  blessing 
all  the  way  along.  It  is  the  one  pleasure  that 
never  fails,  that  brings  no  after-pains.     If  it  dis- 


AMUSEMENTS.  263 

places  old  joys,  it  brings  in  new  and  better  ones  to 
fill  their  places.  It  is  the  very  fountain  of  happi- 
ness, —  not  only  spreading  out  into  a  placid  lake 
at  our  journey's  end,  —  a  sea  of  glass  mingled 
with  fire,  whereon  they  that  have  gotten  the  vic- 
tory shall  stand  with  the  harps  of  God,  —  but  all 
the  way  through  the  wilderness  its  waters  break 
out,  and  its  streams  in  the  desert,  so  that  even  the 
parched  ground  becomes  a  pool,  and  the  thirsty 
land  springs  of  water.  It  is  eminently  and  pre- 
eminently the  religion  of  now. 

But  all  this  cannot,  of  course,  be  known  by  those 
who  have  not  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious. 
They  cannot  forget  those  things  that  are  behind, 
because  they  do  not  see  in  their  true  light  tlie 
things  which  are  before,  and  there  is  no  beauty  for 
them  to  desire.  In  all  such  cases  two  courses  may 
be  pursued.  We  may  say,  "  You  then  love  amuse- 
ment better  than  life.  You  will  sacrifice  heaven 
to  an  evening's  enjoyment.  You  will  barter  an 
eternity  of  bliss  for  a  lifetime  of  uncertain  and  cer- 
tainly fleeting  pleasures.  You  will  take  gayety  in 
exchange  for  your  soul.  Here  is  the  choice  :  here, 
worldly  pleasures  ;  there,  heavenly.  Choose  this 
day  whether  you  will  serve  the  god  of  this  world, 
or  the  God  of  all  worlds." 

This  may  be  the  wise  course,  but  I  do  not  think 
it  is.  The  opportunity  of  choice  is  of  no  vahie 
unless  we  are  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
th®  things  to  be  chosen.     Solomon's  wisdom  and 


264  AMUSEMENTS. 

Enoch's  goodness  would  be  of  small  service  when 
your  little  boy  comes  to  you  with  his  hands  behind 
him,  and  says,  "  Which  will  you  have,  the  right, 
or  the  left  ?  "  In  asking  a  person  to  choose  be- 
tween earthly  and  heavenly  pleasures,  you  ask  him 
to  choose  between  what  he  knows  and  what  he 
does  not  know.  You  ask  him  to  give  up  some- 
thing which  he  knows  he  likes,  for  something  which 
he  not  only  does  not  know  that  he  likes,  but  rather 
thinks  he  does  not  like.  Is  it  altogether  to  be 
expected  that  he  will  do  it  ?  It  is  of  no  use  to 
say  that  worldly  pleasures,  so  called,  are  not  real 
pleasures ;  because  it  is  not  true.  They  are  real. 
There  is  pleasure  in  dancing,  gambhng,  and  horse- 
racing,  —  in  fine  clothes,  theatres,  and  wine  sup- 
pers. Every  one  who  has  tried  it  knows  there  is 
pleasure  in  it,  and  when  you  say  there  is  not,  you 
contradict  the  facts  of  his  consciousness.  Think  a 
moment,  — if  there  were  no  pleasure  in  it,  why  do 
so  many  do  it  ?  Nobody  ever  cut  off  his  hand  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  thing.  Nobody  ever  drank  a 
friend's  health  in  assafoetida.  True  such  life  does 
not  bring  the  highest  kind  of  happiness,  but  neither 
do  ripe  pears,  nor  tight  roofs,  nor  well-tilled  farms, 
nor  well-ordered  houses  ;  yet  we  do  not  despise 
them  on  that  account,  much  less  condemn  them. 
A  great  deal  that  goes  to  make  life  comfortable 
springs  from  inferior  sources.  We  cannot  afford 
to  slight  the  brook  that  ripples  through  our  garden, 
because  it  was  not  born   amid  the  snow-crested 


AAIU:bEMEXTS.  265 

summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  True  such  pleas- 
ures may  be  dearly  paid  for  in  wasted  time,  ruined 
health,  and  shattered  souls ;  but  footing  up  bills  is 
a  quite  different  matter  from  ininning  up  bills.  It 
does  not  come  till  afterwards,  and  may  be  very 
disagreeable  without  preventing  the  other  from 
being  just  the  opposite.  Moreover,  there  are 
many  worldly  pleasures  which  are  not  offset  by 
palpable,  immediate  disadvantages,  and  many  more 
that  have  no  disadvantages  to  affect  them,  —  being 
not  only  harmless,  but  in  their  place  useful.  The 
man  who  has  a  pleasant  home,  a  lucrative  busi- 
ness, and  the  respect  of  his  fellows,  and  who  thinks 
he  is  enjoying  himself,  will  hardly  credit  you  when 
you  inform  him  that  he  is  not.  Knowing  nothing 
of  that  higher  happiness  which  you  hold  up  to 
him,  and  not  having  yet  weighed  his  own  in  the 
balance  to  find  it  wanting,  it  is  not  entirely  illogi- 
cal that  he  should  be  contented  as  he  is. 

The  trouble  is,  that  you  have  precipitated  the 
issue.  Issues  are  always  to  be  avoided,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  many,  brought  face  to  face 
with  such  issues,  do  choose  the  right  to  their  ever- 
lasting joy ;  but  laws  are  instituted  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  weak,  not  of  the  strong.  The  feast 
which  the  Lord  blessed  was  given  to  the  poor,  the 
maimed,  the  lame,  and  the  blind.  The  test,  the 
trial  which  strengthens  one  man,  will  kill  another. 
Through  thy  knowledge  shall  thy  weak  brother 
perish  for  whom  Christ  died  ?     When  ye  sin  so 

12 


266  AMUSEMENTS. 

against  thy  brethren,  and  wound  their  weak  con- 
science, ye  sin  against  Christ.  A  wise  parent  will 
not  plunge  his  child  into  a  hand-to-hand  conflict 
with  disobedience,  if  he  can  help  it.  If  the  child 
is  peevish  and  unhappy,  and  tending  to  insubordi- 
nation, he  will  not  immediately  launch  a  com- 
mand, though  the  command  itself  may  be  reason- 
able, and  eminently  fit  to  be  obeyed.  He  will 
endeavor  to  soothe,  to  lead  the  troubled  mind  away 
from  its  troubles  ;  and  when  placidity  is  restored, 
and  the  little  face  is  clothed  with  sunshine,  the 
command  will  be  cheerfully  obeyed.  Civilians, 
whose  knowledge  of  battles  is  derived  from  Sallust 
and  Gibbon,  will  be  rampant  for  war,  when  expe- 
rienced generals,  who  have  seen  fighting,  who  have 
been  in  the  trenches,  and  heard  the  balls  whistling 
around  them,  will  be  strenuous  advocates  of  pacific 
measures.  But  though  an  issue  is  to  be  shunned, 
it  is  not  to  be  shirked.  By  just  as  much  as  it  is 
to  be  avoided,  by  just  so  much  is  it  to  be  bravely 
met  when  it  is  unavoidable. 

The  old  proverb  says,  "  The  Devil  is  old,  and 
therefore  knows  many  things,"  and  if  there  is 
any  one  thing  which  he  knows  better  than  any 
other,  it  is  human  nature.  Concerning  God  and 
the  indwelling  life  and  might  of  righteousness,  he 
is  short-sighted ;  but  how  to  mix  truth  and  false- 
hood in  such  proportions  that  man  shall  accept 
it,  how  to  combine  truth  enough  to  lull  suspicion 
with  falsehood    enough    to    destroy   the    soul,  he 


.U^USEMEXTS.  267 

knows  to  a  charm.  He  is  as  well  acquainted  with 
the  laws  of  mind  as  we,  and  understands  their 
bearings,  and  how  to  use  them  for  his  o\^ti  pur- 
poses, a  great  deal  better  than  we.  He  knows  that, 
if  men  could  clearly  see  what  life  with  religion  in 
it  is,  they  would  choose  it  rather  than  life  without 
religion  ;  but  this  they  cannot  do,  because  religion 
is  of  such  a  nature  that  one  must  possess  it  him- 
self in  order  to  get  at  any  adequate  conception  of 
its  worth.  He  knows  further,  that  if  he  can  get 
men  to  think  they  see  the  two,  and  to  make  choice 
upon  such  vision,  it  will  be  a  strong  point  gained. 
To  this  end  he  holds  up  a  nondescript  article,  — 
something  that  has  no  existence  in  heaven,  but  is 
of  the  earth,  earthy,  and  of  the  Devil,  devilish  ; 
something  that  is  cold  and  negative  and  repulsive. 
That  he  calls  religion,  and  asks  them  to  choose 
that  instead  of  their  warm,  sensuous,  and  real,  if 
short-lived  pleasures  ;  knowing  all  the  while  —  the 
cunning  schemer  —  that  they  will  do  nothing  of 
the  sort.  "  Choose  religion,"  he  says,  "  religion 
that  will  destroy  all  your  pleasures,  and  give  you 
up  body  and  soul  to  church-going,  and  psalm-sing- 
ing, and  prayer-meetings,  and  tract-societies,  and 
general  solemnity."  For  this  is  undoubtedly  what 
rehgion  means  to  a  vast  multitude  of  people,  and 
this  invitation,  recollect,  he  addresses  to  men  who 
have  not  yet  got  hold  of  the  secret  life  which  dwells 
in  church  and  psalm,  wherever  they  are  vital,  and 
to  whom,   therefore,   psalms  and  hymns  are  but 


268  AMUSEMEIS^TS. 

sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbals.  But  little 
cares  he  whether  they  understand  the  terms  of  the 
bargain  or  not.  Little  cares  he  whether  they  know 
what  they  reject  or  not,  so  long  as  he  knows  jvhat 
they  accept.  It  is  his  aim  to  get  them  to  turn 
away  from  God  and  cling  to  himself,  and  it  is  not 
in  his  nature  to  hold  back,  from  conscientious  scru- 
ples, when  a  little  deception  would  serve  his  pur- 
pose. If  he  can  make  his  proposal  through  the 
lips  of  some  worthy  and  devout  man,  so  that  his 
victims  shall  not  for  a  moment  suspect  that  there 
is  any  cheating  going  on,  so  much  the  better. 

There  is  another,  and  I  think  a  more  excellent 
way.  Remembering  that  the  person  whom  you 
are  addressing  is,  as  yet,  totally  unacquainted  with 
the  joys  of  religion,  and  knows  it  chiefly,  if  not 
wholly,  by  its  duties  and  immunities,  and  even  that 
but  partially,  —  remembering  also  that  a  true  idea 
is  the  very  best  lever  with  which  to  pry  up  a  false 
idea,  —  would  it  not  be  better  to  dwell  less  upon  the 
pleasures  that  are  to  be  given  up,  and  more  upon 
those  that  are  to  be  acquired,  —  to  insist  not  so 
much  that  the  longino;  soul  shall  abandon  the  leeks 
and  onions  of  Egypt,  as  to  set  before  him  the  milk 
and  honey  of  the  promised  land  ?  Why  not  say  to 
the  gay  girl  who  finds  the  ball-room  an  obstacle  in 
the  way  to  Christ,  "  Leave  that  question  alone.  Do 
not  trouble  yourself  about  it.  Let  it  settle  itself. 
The  point  now  is  to  give  your  heart  to  God.  You 
acknowledge  that  you  owe  allegiance  to  him.     All 


AMUSEMENTS.  '  269 

that  any  Christian  wants,  or  has  any  right  to  want 
of  you,  is  that  you  should  pay  what  you  owe.  In 
order  to  do  this,  look  not  upon  the  world  which 
you  fear  to  leave,  hut  the  God  to  whom  you 
wish  to  go,  —  a  God  ready  to  pardon,  forgiving 
iniquity,  transgression,  and  sin,  though  he  will  by 
no  means  clear  the  guilty,  -^  a  God  who  is  clothed 
with  majesty,  yet  whose  name  is  love,  —  a  King 
omnipotent,  yet  a  Father  all-compassionate,  —  on 
whose  side  ranging  yourself,  you  will  be  on  the  side 
of  goodness,  truth,  right,  against  wickedness,  false- 
hood, and  oj^pression,  —  whose  presence  is  fulness 
of  joy,  at  whose  right  hand  are  pleasures  forever- 
more,  —  whom  having  not  seen  we  love,  in  whom 
only  believing  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory,  and  whom  when  we  see  we 
shall  be  like,  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory." 

From  glory  to  glory,  —  such  are  the  Christian's 
stepping-stones.  Show  them  to  those  whose  feet 
are  almost  gone.  Show  them  that  the  religion  of 
the  Bible  is  not  a  religion  of  gloom  and  coldness 
and  forlorn  hopes  and  last  resources,  —  a  religion 
to  be  chosen  as  the  least  of  two  evils,  —  a  rehgion 
for  poor  people  and  consumptive  people  and  mel- 
ancholy people,  for  sea-voyages  and  steam-car- 
riages and  thunder-storms  ;  but  a  rehgion  full,  rich, 
vigorous,  rounding  itself  to  the  most  exuberant 
nature,  adapted  to  the  most  active  life,  capable  of 
filling  the  warmest  heart,  —  a  religion  whose  key- 


270  AMUSEMENTS. 

note  is  love,  whose  banner  over  us  is  love,  whose 
precept  is  to  rejoice  evermore.  Demonstrate  to 
them  that  there  is  not  only  righteousness,  but  peace 
and  joy,  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Set  Christ  before 
them,  the  chief  among  ten  thousand,  the  one  alto- 
gether lovely.  Bid  them  lay  hold  of  his  goodness, 
clothe  themselves  in  his  strength,  his  beautiful 
garments  of  purity  and  holiness  and  benevolence 
and  beneficence,  and  be  called  by  his  new  name. 
Shall  we,  then,  leave  out  of  sight  the  sacrifices 
which  God  requires  ?  Shall  we  hide  the  cross 
beneath  the  crown  till  we  have  got  people  se- 
curely into  the  Church,  and  then  turn  upon  them 
and  bid  them  relinquish  their  former  pleasures 
upon  pain  of  an  evil  name  and  public  disfavor,  and 
so  lay  ourselves  open  to  a  prosecution  for  obtain- 
ing converts  under  false  pretences  ?  Or  shall  they 
indeed  continue  their  dissipations  and  unworthy 
amusements  as  things  with  which  God  is  w^ell 
pleased  ?  Shall  they  serve  God  and  mammon  ? 
Nay,  verily.  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God, 
and  him  only  shalt  thou  serve.  But  having  once 
put  a  soul  en  rai^port  with  its  Maker,  —  having,  as 
far  as  in  us  lay,  restored  the  broken  links  of  the 
chain  that  bound  it  to  the  Father,  —  we  leave  it  to 
make  the  reconciliation  complete,  the  consecration 
entire.  Specific  duty  is  a  matter  between  every 
soul  and  its  God.  If  a  man  has  really  become  a 
child  of  God,  God's  will  will  henceforth  be  the  rul- 
ing principle  of  his  life.     He  will  desire  nothing  so 


AMUSEMENTS.  271 

mucli  as  to  find  out  what  God  wishes  him  to  do, 
and  then  to  do  it.  Loving  God  whom  he  hath  not 
seen,  he  will  love  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen. 
He  will  no  longer  seek  only  his  own,  but  his  neigh- 
bor's good.  Self  will  be  deposed  from  the  first 
place  in  his  heart,  and  God  will  reign  supreme. 
The  dethroned  monarch  may  set  on  foot  many  a 
rebellion,  and  the  kingdom  may,  for  a  long  time, 
have  but  little  quiet,  but  the  end  will  surely  be 
peace,  and  he  shall  come  whose  right  it  is  to  reign. 
Balls  and  operas  and  gaming-houses,  all  the  pleas- 
ures which  the  Christian  world  agrees  in  con- 
demning, and  all  the  pleasures  wdiich  some  con- 
demn, and  some  connive  at,  and  some  justify,  will 
appear  before  him  in  new  lights  as  the  sun  of  right- 
eousness arises.  He  may  not  at  first  see  every- 
thing in  its  real  aspect.  The  glamour  falls  but 
slowly  from  his  eyes,  arid  men  appear  to  him  but 
as  trees  walking.  He  will  need  thought  and  read- 
ing and  prayer,  and  the  constant  exercise  of  his 
reason.  Christian  counsel  may  cast  away  some  of 
the  stumbling-blocks  from  his  path,  but  his  own 
hand  chiefly  must  lay  the  axe  at  the  root  of  the 
trees ;  and  never  fear  but  that  he  will  eventually 
make  straight  in  the  desert  of  his  soul  a  highway 
for  the  Son  of  God. 

As  for  w^orldly  pleasures,  they  will  adjust  them- 
selves.  Those  which  come  between  him  and  God 
it  will  be  no  sacrifice  to  relinquish,  for  he  will  have 
lost  all  relish  for  them.     Those  that  do  not  thus 


272  AMUSEMENTS. 

interfere,  he  need  not  relinquish  at  all.  If  he  finds 
that  certain  exercises  leave  him  listless,  indisposed 
to  action,  unable  to  cope  with  the  adversary,  he 
will  instinctively  shun  them.  Others  that  recre- 
ate him  from,  and  fit  him  for,  the  severer  duties 
of  life,  he  will  continue,  —  doing  God  service  by 
strengthening  his  soul  for  work.  He  will  fall  off 
naturally  fi:om  wrong  amusements ;  he  will  not  be 
torn  reluctantly  away  from  them.  Whatever 
force  is  to  be  exerted  will  be  exerted  by  his  own 
free  will,  not  by  any  external  power.  From 
what  he  sees  to  be  deleterious,  it  will  be  a  joy 
to  shake  himself  fi-ee.  He  is  not  to  do  anything 
because  it  would  be  consistent,  or  refi'ain  from 
doing  anything  because  it  would  be  inconsistent. 
The  greatest  villain  in  the  world  may  lead  a  per- 
fectly consistent  life.  It  is  absurd  to  do  some- 
thing to-day,  because  we  did  or  said  something 
last  year.  We  are  older  to-day  than  we  were 
last  year,  and  our  views  should  be  broader.  Last 
year  we  may  have  been  wrong.  Let  us  to-day 
be  right.  Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead ;  let  us 
be  concerned  only  to  follow  Jesus.  We  are  to 
stop  away  from  the  gaming-table,  not  because  we 
are  church-members,  but  because  we  are  men. 
If  it  is  not  harmfiil  for  men  to  gamble,  it  is  not 
harmful  for  church-members.  If  it  does  not  harm 
a  girl  to  go  to  balls  before  she  joins  the  church, 
it  does  not  harm  her  afterwards.  If  dancing  is 
good  for  her  womanhood,  it  is  good  for  her  Chris- 


AMUSEMENTS.  273 

tianitj.  TliB  Bible  forbids  to  the  Christian  no 
pleasure  which  is  beneficial  to  the  human  being. 
Christianity  is  simply  the  very  highest  state  of 
manhood.  Indulgences  that  are  injurious  are  in- 
jurious because  they  keep  a  man  below  his  proper 
level,  not  because  he  has  signed  a  certain  paper  or 
made  a  certain  agreement.  Drunkenness  is  wrong 
because  it  debases  the  image  of  God,  not  because 
it  violates  a  pledge.  Lust  and  avarice  would  en- 
foul  the  soul  if  Christ  had  never  died. 

In  a  most  thoughtful,  elegant,  and  Christian 
book,  I  lately  read,  "  The  sober  Christian  may 
possibly  feel  a  shock  in  finding  Novalis  describe 
his  faith  as  a  foe  to  art,  to  science,  even  to  en- 
joyment; yet  does  not  his  own  daily  experience 
prove  that  the  holding  of  the  one  thing  needful 
involves  the  letting  go  of  many  things  lovely  and 
desirable,  and  that  in  thought  as  well  as  in  action 
he  must  go  on  '  ever  narrowing  his  w^ay,  avoiding 

mucyr' 

To  all  which  I  say  emphatically,  no  !  The  hold- 
ing of  the  one  thing  needful  does  not  Involve  the 
letting  go  of  anything  really  lovely  and  desirable. 
It  not  only  makes  it  more  lovely  and  more  de- 
sirable, but  more  worthy  of  love  and  desire,  and 
therefore  more  worthy  to  be  retained.  Every 
pleasure,  every  pursuit,  which  w^as  simply  inno- 
cent, puts  on  a  new  nature  when  the  soul  is  fired 
with  religious  fervor,  and  guided  by  religious  prin- 
ciple,  and  becomes   religious.      Christianity  acts 

12*  E 


274  AMUSEMENTS. 

upon  the  occupations  and  recreations  of  life  like  a 
magnet  upon  iron-filings.  Its  strong  current  pours 
over  the  shapeless,  incoherent  dust,  and  sweeps  the 
particles  to  their  polar  spheres.  There  is  no  longer 
listlessness  and  chaos.  Every  atom  knows  its 
place,  and  bends  in  unhesitating  obedience  to  this 
new  motive  power  ;  so  order  is  evoked  from  dis- 
order. But  pleasures,  in  becoming  duties,  do  not 
cease  to  be  pleasures.  Eating  and  drinking  to  the 
glory  of  God  is  not  only  more  beneficial,  but  more 
delightful,  than  eating  and  drinking  to  gluttony 
and  drunkenness.  Ambition,  saturated  with  be- 
nevolence, and  consecrated  to  God,  not  only  brings 
forth  fruit  just  as  nutritive  and  just  as  plenteous, 
but  a  richer  and  more  delicious  fruit.  Wisdom's 
ways  are  ways  not  only  of  profit,  but  of  pleasant- 
ness. Religion  organizes  and  symmetrizes  life,  but 
cramps  nothing,  annihilates  nothing. 

So  it  is  impossible  to  believe  with  the  same  au- 
thor, that  "  the  rule  of  Christ  is  not  only  exclusive, 
but  restrictive,  and  ....  we  need  not  look  far  into 
either  literature  or  art  to  see  to  how  many  of  their 
happiest  energies  this  rule  opposes  itself."  I  be- 
lieve that  the  rule  of  Christ,  so  far  from  opposing  a 
single  happy  energy  of  literature  or  art,  strength- 
ens, .mobilizes,  purifies,  and  vivifies  them  all. 
There  is  not  a  faculty,  nor  a  power  of  the  human 
soul,  which  is  not  utilized  by  being  brought  under 
the  control  of  religion.  They  find  their  true 
sphere  and  scope  only  when  Christ  takes  the  lead, 


AMUSEMENTS.  275 

and  trains  all  the  faculties  to  heavenly  purposes. 
The  servants  of  sin  never  develop  their  inborn 
power  till  they  become  the  servants  of  righteous- 
ness. We  need  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  idea  that 
Christianity  is  something  extrinsic,  —  an  after- 
thought put  in  after  the  man  v^as  finished,  —  a  kind 
of  free  pass  to  heaven.  We  need  to  bear  always 
in  mind  that  it  is  rather  the  completion  of  an  other- 
wise imperfect  organization.  It  is  the  restoration 
of  man  to  his  original  integrity.  Without  it  he  is 
only  half  made  up.  Religion  does  not  naturalize  a 
foreigner,  but  reinstate  an  heir.  It  does  not  take 
a  man  out  of  his  hereditary  place,  and  introduce 
him  to  one  that  is  higher  indeed,  and  safer,  but 
unnatural.  Religion  is  a  rebinding  of  the  soul  to 
God,  from  whom  it  had  cut  loose.  It  is  a  restora- 
tion of  the  soul  to  its  primal  proximity  to  the  Di- 
vine. There  has  been  a  fall.  God  made  man 
upright.  The  Devil  cast  him  down,  he  consenting. 
Christ  seeks  to  set  him  once  more  erect,  and  when 
man,  leaning  on  that  strong  arm,  begins  to  lift 
himself  out  of  the  sloughs  of  sin,  it  is  not  a  hand 
or  a  foot  or  a  faculty  that  is  lifted,  but  the  whole 
man.  Reason,  judgment,  imagination,  wit,  all 
gather  themselves  up  from  the  miry  clay,  and  be- 
gin to  v/ash  their  robes  and  make  them  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Everything  that  was  no- 
ble is  still  farther  ennobled.  Everything  that  was 
ignoble  enters  upon  a  process  of  disintegration  and 
destruction.     A  religion  that  should  repress  the 


276  AMUSEMENTS. 

energies  of  the  soul  would,  from  that  circumstance 
alone,  be  suspicious.  Religion  broadens,  height- 
ens, deepens.  It  enlarges  the  domains  of  joy, 
and  contracts  the  realms  of  sorrow.  It  robs  grief 
of  its  sting,  and  gives  zest  and  flavor  to  happiness. 
It  turns  calmness  into  dehght,  and  content  becomes 
exultation.  Singing,  writing,  painting,  planning, 
whatever  ministered  to  ambition,  pride,  avarice,  or 
any  of  the  numerous  retinue  of  selfishness,  are 
wrenched  away  from  the  usurper,  and  marshalled, 
with  acclamation,  into  the  service  of  Christ.  The 
author,  further  on,  uses  most  just,  judicious,  and 
wise  words  in  illustration  of  this,  though  they  seem 
to  contradict  her  former  statements.  "  Such  a  life 
will  seem  less  spiritual  only  because  it  has  grown 
more  natural ;  the  soul  moves  in  an  atmosphere 
which  of  itself  brings  it  into  contact  with  all  great 
and  enduring  things,  and  it  has  only  to  draw  in  its 
breath  to  be  filled  and  satisfied.  I  know  not  how 
to  describe  the  grandeur  and  simplicity  of  the  state 
that  is  no  longer  self-bounded,  self-referring  ;  how 
great  a  thing  to  such  a  freed  and  rejoicing  spirit 
the  life  in  Christ  Jesus  seems." 

Nor  can  we  believe  that  "  the  print  of  the  Mas- 
ter's footsteps,  if  tracked  with  any  degree  of  faith- 
fulness, will  [necessarily]  carry  his  own  far  out  of 
the  path  of  pleasure  and  distinction,  and  leave  him 
amid  scenes  and  among  objects  in  which,  save  for 
this  powerful  attraction,  he  would  have  found 
nothing  to  delight  in  or  to  desire."     God  is  not  the 


AMUSEMENTS.  277 

God  of  the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  obscure,  any 
more  than  he  is  of  the  rich,  the  learned,  the  dis- 
tinguished. Christians  are  harder  on  this  class 
than  is  Christ.  We  can  follow  his  footsteps  to  the 
house  of  the  Pharisee  as  well  as  of  the  publican. 
Paul,  the  gentleman,  the  scholar,  the  aristocrat, 
was  not  one  whit  behind  the  very  chiefest  of  the 
fishermen.  The  adaptation  of  Christianity  to  the 
poor  is  brought  out  in  the  Bible  with  great  force, 
because  that  phase  of  it  is  the  one  most  likely  to 
be  hidden,  and  needs  therefore  to  be  held  up  to 
continual  prominence.  But  including  the  lowly  is 
not  excluding  the  lofty.  They  that  have  riches 
shall  enter  hardly,  but  they  shall  enter  —  through 
Christ.  We  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon,  but 
we  shall  not  serve  God  by  giving  up  to  mammon 
the  kingdom  wherewith  we  have  been  intrusted, 
and  running  away  into  the  shelter  of  a  monastery, 
or  a  nunnery,  or  a  clique.  "  Occupy  till  I  come," 
was  his  command.  We  must  keep  in  the  world, 
overcoming  it,  not  overcome  by  it,  —  turning  to 
Christ's  service  all  pleasure,  all  distinction,  all  in- 
tellect, all  wealth,  —  despoiling  mammon  of  his 
treasures  and  adorning  with  them  the  temple  of 
God.  That  which  has  been  is  not  that  which 
shall  be.  Behold,  the  former  things  are  come  to 
pass,  and  new  things  do  I  declare.  The  pomp 
and  riches  and  glory  of  this  world  have  been  used 
to  illustrate  the  reign  of  Satan,  but  another  day 
shall  dawn,  to  whose  light  the  Gentiles  shall  come, 


278  AMUSEMENTS. 

and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  its  rising,  —  he  shall 
come  whose  right  it  is  to  reign.  Glorious  in  his 
apparel,  travelHng  in  the  greatness  of  his  strength, 
all  that  is  beautiful  and  grand  and  mighty  shall  go 
out  to  meet  him.  All  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth 
shall  swell  his  triumphal  train,  yea,  even  the  earth 
herself  shall  be  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  and  a  royal  diadem  in  the  hand  of  our 
God. 

That,  therefore,  is  but  a  flimsy  and  suspicious 
kind  of  religion  that  works  from  without,  inward ; 
that  keeps  a  man  away  from  sinful  pleasures,  but 
does  not  keep  him  from  wanting  to  go  ;  that  sub- 
stitutes external  restraints  for  internal  promptings. 
It  is  probably  better  that  a  man  should  stop  away 
from  the  gambling-houses  because  he  is  a  church- 
member,  than  not  to  stop  away  at  all.  It  is  better 
that  a  woman  should  remain  at  home  and  go  to 
bed  at  a  seasonable  hour,  from  fear  of  being  called 
inconsistent,  than  that  she  should  spend  the  night 
in  dancing  and  wine-sipping.  But  if  they  look 
after  the  forbidden  fruit  with  longing  eyes,  and 
wish  the  Church  did  not  forbid  them  to  pluck  it, 
their  religion  cannot  be  anything  worth  mention- 
ing. It  certainly  cannot  be  very  comfortable. 
So  far  as  its  requirements  are  concerned,  they 
might  as  well  go  as  wish  to  go.  Christ  wants  vol- 
untary contribution,  not  forced  taxation.  I  heard 
of  a  man  once,  who,  when  reproached  for  going 
to  a  pic-nic  soon  after  his  wife  died,  excused  him- 


AMUSEMENTS.  279 

self  by  saying  that  he  asked  his  wife's  mother  if 
she  had  any  objection,  and  she  said  she  had  n't ! 
Such  love  is  not  worth  much  In  the  wear  and 
tear  of  life. 

Therefore,  also,  the  sacrifices  which  Christian- 
ity requires  at  the  hands  of  its  adherents  are  few 
and  small.  Literally  speaking,  it  requires  none, 
since  It  demands  nothing  that  the  noblest  man- 
hood does  not  demand  ;  but  even  in  the  ordi- 
nary acceptation  of  the  term,  Its  sacrifices  are  not 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  Its  privileges.  The 
followers  of  Christ  sometimes  make  requisitions 
which  Christ  himself  does  not.  In  blindness  of 
mind  they  call  that  common  and  unclean  which 
God  hath  cleansed,  and  insist  that  it  be  cast  out 
and  trodden  under  foot.  An  old  lady,  speaking 
of  a  merry  young  girl  who  had  lately  joined  the 
church,  said :  "  Yes,  I  think  she  is  a  Christian. 
I  think  there  is  a  change,  but  Betsey  will  be 
Betsey."  Of  course  she  will.  Did  ^Christ  ever 
require  her  to  be  anybody  else  ?  But  we,  pruri- 
ent meddlers,  rushing  in  where  angels  fear  to 
tread,  —  we  Insist  that  the  gay  Betseys  shall  be 
transformed  into  sedate  Susans,  which  Is  just  as 
unnatural,  un scriptural,  and  impossible  as  that  the 
sedate  Susans  shall  effervesce  into  gay  Betseys. 
A  great  deal  of  the  trouble  arises  fi'om  a  miscon- 
ception of  the  nature  and  ends  of  amusements. 
There  are  those  who  think  them  a  gross  waste,  if 
not  a  misuse,  of  time.     There  are  many  more  who 


280  AMUSEMENTS. 

think  anything  like  framing,  planning,  and  arrang- 
ing for  amusements  to  be  a  frivolous  occupation, 
unworthy  of  a  Christian,  and  indicative  of  a  shal- 
low, worldly  mind.  It  takes  away  the  •  attention 
from  serious  and  important  things,  and  fixes  it  on 
those  which  are  short-lived  and  trivial.  So  the 
case  was  stated  in  a  discourse  by  a  learned,  elo- 
quent, and  exemplary  man,  from  none  more  than 
from  whom  should  one  expect  sound  reasoning 
and  Gospel  truth.  He  took,  as  he  had  a  right  to 
take,  high  ground.  He  looked  upon  the  question 
of  amusements  in  its  relations  to  sin,  —  to  man  as 
a  sinner.  "  Here  is  a  world  lying  in  sin,"  was  his 
argument,  —  "  estranged  from  God,  and  under  his 
wrath  and  curse.  What  mockery  to  God  for 
Christians  to  be  planning  amusements  for  such  a 
world  !  "  But  this  view  of  the  subject,  solemn  as 
it  is,  is  far-reaching  and  comprehensive.  It  em- 
braces, not  the  amusements  only,  but  the  occupa- 
tions of  life.  ^  It  is  whether  the  attention  of  Chris- 
tians shall  be  given  to  any  other  matters  than  those 
which  pertain  directly  to  the  salvation  of  sinners. 
It  is  whether  Christian  men  shall  give  their  time 
and  money  to  the  construction  of  an  ocean  tele- 
graph, while  yet  the  day  is  far  distant  that  shall 
echo  from  pole  to  pole  the  glad  tidings  of  a  Sav- 
iour's love.  It  is  whether  men  shall  build  rail- 
roads and  steamboats,  while  millions  upon  millions 
are  rushing  down  the  broad  way  that  leads  to  de- 
struction.    It  is  whether  they  shall  erect  pubhc 


AMUSEMENTS.  281 

baths,  providing  for  the  cleanhness  of  the  body, 
while  the  soul  is  a  sepulchre  full  of  dead  men's 
bones  and  all  uncleanness.  It  is  whether  they 
shall  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked,  while 
so  many  are  perishing  for  want  of  the  heavenly 
manna  and  the  robe  of  Christ's  righteousness.  It 
is,  in  short,  whether  men  shall  buy  and  sell  and 
get  gain,  so  long  as  any  remain  out  of  the  ark  of 
Christ. 

It  is  useless  to  say  that  these,  and  other  such 
schemes  and  occupations,  have  in  view  the  health, 
life,  or  convenience  of  man,  and  are  therefore  es- 
sential, or  at  least  useful  and  important.  That 
is  the  very  assertion  made  by  those  who  believe 
it  to  be  a  Christian  duty  to  provide  amusements, 
and  places  the  question  at  once  on  a  different 
basis.  They  put  amusements  on  precisely  the 
same  plane  as  professions  and  occupations.  They 
say,  and  justly,  that  we  must  take  men  as  they  are, 
not  as  they  might  be,  or  as  w^e  should  think  best  to 
have  them.  He  who  would  benefit  his  kind  must 
proceed  on  the  premises  God  has  given,  not  on 
hypothetical  ones  of  his  own.  He  must  take  Into 
account  that  "  all  men  are  born  babies,"  and  for 
the  most  part  stay  babies  all  their  lives,  in  a  great- 
er or  less  degree.  The  child  is  not  only  the  father 
of  the  man,  but  he  Is  the  man  in  large  measure. 
The  earth  is  one  great  school-house,  and  men  and 
women  are  the  boys  and  girls,  grown  up  Indeed, 
but  boys  and  girls  still.     Sometimes  they  are  im- 


282  AMUSEMENTS. 

proveraents  on  their  juvenile  selves.  The  passions 
have  come  more  under  control ;  the  gentler  affec- 
tions have  been  cultivated  ;  the  mind  has  been 
nourished  and  trained  ;  but  too  often  a  flimsy  cov- 
ering of  false .  politeness  is  thrown  over  radical 
defects.  Mokanna's  silver  veil  is  used  to  hide 
features  too  hideous  to  be  plainly  revealed,»but 
which  often  show  through  in  spite  of  Mokanna. 
Self-will  has  become  obstinacy  ;  zeal  has  become 
bigotry ;  lazy  shirking  has  become  positive  chi- 
canery. The  average  man  is  no  better  than  he 
should  be. 

This  is  not  a  flattering  picture.  I  would  gladly 
be  proved  to  be  in  the  wrong,  for  the  sake  of  be- 
lieving that  it  is  not  a  true  one.  But  calling  a 
man  an  angel  does  not  make  him  an  angel ;  and 
whether  we  do  or  do  not  believe  in  total  depravity, 
we  do  not,  as  a  general  thing,  lend  our  neighbor  a 
hundred  dollars  without  taking  his  note  for  it.  A 
very  able  political  newspaper  remarks  :  "  We  have 
nothing  to  say  of  Original  Sin  as  a  theologic  dog- 
ma ;  but  in  politics  it  is  as  solid  as  the  multiplica- 
tion-table." The  first  step  in  curing  disease  is  to 
find  out  what  the  disease  is.  The  first  point  in 
solving  a  problem  is  to  have  it  correctly  stated. 
Here  we  all  agree  that  the  disease  is  sin  ;  the 
problem  is  to  evolve  from  moral  chaos  a  world  of 
symmetry  and  beauty. 

An  old  writer  says,  that  he  considers  nothing 
human  to  be  foreign  to  himself.      If  a  heathen 


AMUSEMENTS.  283 

could  saj  this,  so  much  more  ought  we  to  say  it. 
"Whatever  concerns  humanity  concerns  vis  all. 
Man  is  a  triune  being.  He  has  a  physical,  intel- 
lectual, and  moral  nature.  These  are  truisms, 
but  it  seems  necessary  that  they  should  be  stated, 
because  we  are  apt  to  forget  tliem,  or  to  act  as  if 
we  did  not  know  them.  Man's  physical  nature 
just  as  much  needs  to  be  provided  for  as  his  in- 
tellectual nature,  and  his  intellectual  as  his  moral 
nature,  and  vice  versa.  Each  has  its  inalienable 
rights.  No  one  is  to  be  subordinated  or  sacrificed 
to  the  other.  The  claim  of  no  one  is  paramount. 
It  is  just  as  wicked  to  cheat  the  body  out  of  its 
just  dues  as  it  is  to  cheat  the  soul,  and  the  soul  as 
the  body.  The  body  has  just  as  good  claims  to 
consideration  as  the  mind,  and  the  mind  as  the 
heart,  and  the  heart  as  either  of  the  others.  The 
body  is  just  as  necessary  to  the  soul  as  the  soul  to 
the  body.  Neither  can  exist  in  its  present  state 
without  the  other.  Both  can  exist  separate,  but  it 
will  be  no  longer  the  same  personality.  The  seces- 
sion of  either  dissolves  the  union.  The  secession 
of  both  does  nothing  more. 

This  compUcates  matters.  If  a  man  existed 
in  a  state  of  pure  intellect,  he  could  be  far  more 
easily  managed.  It  would  be  a  comparatively  sim- 
ple thing  to  minister  to  the  mind  diseased,  if  it 
were  not  so  mixed  up  with  the  body.  But  man 
does  not  exist  in  a  state  of  pure  intellect,  but  of 
intellect,  and  carbon,  lime,  and  water.    You  cannot 


284  AMUSEMENTS. 

lay  your  hand  on  a  susceptibility  of  his  soul  that  is 
not,  or  may  not  be,  influenced  by  the  susceptibili- 
ties of  his  body.  All  the  emotions  of  his  body  so 
bear  on  the  emotions  of  his  soul,  that  it  is  often 
difficult  to  tell  what  is  body  and  what  is  soul. 
He,  then,  who  provides  for  the  fullest  symmet- 
rical development  of  every  bodily  power,  is  so  far 
fulfilhng  the  chief  end  of  man,  according  to  the 
Westminster  Catechism,  though  he  that  stops  there 
stops  short  of  the  glory  of  God.  It  is,  therefore, 
no  more  mockery  to  God  to  plan  amusements,  than 
to  plan  employments,  because  the  former  have, 
though  perhaps  a  humbler,  yet  certainly  just  as 
important  a  place  in  the  Divine  economy.  The 
nature  and  extent  of  man's  amusements  have  just 
•as  much  bearing  on  his  immortal  nature,  as  the 
nature  and  extent  of  his  work.  Amusements  are 
just  as  necessary  to  his  spiritual  development  as 
work  or  worship.  Right  amusements  are  just  as 
beneficial  to  him  as  wrong  amusements  are  delete- 
rious. They  do  not  directly  tend  to  repentance  or 
growth  in  grace,  neither  does  work  ;  but  as  God  is 
uniformly  to  be  found  in  the  way  of  duty,  recrea- 
tion being  duty,  he  may  be  truly  and  acceptably 
served  in  recreation. 

The  question  narrows  itself  down  to  this.  To 
give  attention  to  so-called  secular  pursuits  is  wrong, 
or  it  is  not.  If  it  is,  the  habits  of  the  Christian 
world  must  undergo  a  vast  change.  If  it  is  not, 
amusements,  in   their  selection  and  arrangement, 


AMUSEMENTS.  285 

are  entitled  to  tlie  same  kind  of  interest  and  atten- 
tion as  occupations. 

A  religious  newspaper  tells  a  story  of  a  young 
man  who  "  became  anxious  about  his  soul.  He 
resolved  to  call  on  a- minister  and  ask  his  counsel. 
....  He  found  the  minister  standing  in  animated, 
not  to  say  light  conversation,  with  a  couple  of 
visitors,  and  arranging  with  them  a  visit  to  a  gen- 
tleman in  the  country,  who  had  a  private  ninepin- 
alley.  The  impression  on  the  mind  of  the  young 
man  was  very  unhappy  ;  he  could  not  open  his 
mind  to  the  minister,  and  he  retired  without  hav- 
ing derived  any  benefit  from  the  interview.  He, 
erelong,  became  a  careless,  and,  in  the  end,  an 
abandoned  sinner." 

Moral  of  the  religious  new^spaper  :  "  Things  in 
themselves  harmless  are  to  be  avoided,  if  they 
cause  others  to  offend." 

Moral  of  ordinary  observers :  ministers  must  not 
engage  in  animated,  particularly  in  light  conversa- 
tion, and  must  not  visit  gentlemen  who  keep  bowl- 
ing-alleys. 

But  do  you  really  mean,  religious  newspaper, 
that  ministers  are  to  be  uniformly  grave  and  seri- 
ous ?  Does  it  not  occur  to  you  that  the  clergymen 
who  are  never  light  must  be  extremely  heavy  ?  Is 
not  the  gravity  of  a  man  who  is  always  grave  nearly 
as  worthless  as  the  levity  of  a  man  who  is  always 
light  ?  Did  not  the  Rev.  Rowland  Hill  say  that 
the  man  who  is  not  a  fool  half  the  time  is  a  fool 


286  AMUSEMENTS. 

all  the  time  ?  Is  not  too  much  nutritlveness  just 
as  bad  a  quality  of  food  as  too  little,  and  did  you 
never  hear  of  people  eating  sawdust  to  restore  the 
balance  ?  What  kind  of  a  picture  would  that  be 
which  was  all  shadows,  and  no  lights,  and  what 
kind  of  people  are  they  who  would  blot  out  the 
lights  of  the  landscapes  ?  It  is  the  Edmund 
Sparklers  of  society,  you  may  be  sure,  who  w^ant 
men  *'  with  no  nonsense  about  them."  Did  you 
ever  hear  a  high-souled,  whole-hearted,  clear- 
brained,  large-minded,  cultivated  Christian  object 
to  "  animated  conversation,"  not  to  say  ninepins  ? 
And  wdiat  kind  of  conversation  would  you 
recommend  between  a  minister  and  his  chance 
visitors  ?  Shall  he  inchoate  a  treatise  on  politi- 
cal economy  ?  Shall  he  entertain  them  with 
the  differential  calculus  ?  Shall  he  chat  of  fixed 
fate,  free  will,  foreknowledge  absolute  ?  Do  you 
not  very  well  know  that,  if  you  should  make  a 
friendly  call  upon  your  pastor,  and  he  should 
take  you  up  in  this  way,  you  would  be  exceeding- 
ly tired  ?  Do  you  not,  you  who  have  so  much  to 
do  with  ministers,  —  do  you  not  know  that  many 
v^ho  are  the  very  salt  of  the  earth,  first  in  every 
good  word  and  w^ork,  are  the  many-sided  men,  — 
the  men  who  touch  life  at  many  points, — the  men 
of  quick  sympathies,  who  joy  with  the  joyous,  and 
sorrow^  with  the  sorrowful,  —  who  neither  laugh 
nor  weep  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but  because  they 
cannot  help  it  ?     Are  you  not  now  thinking  of 


AMUSEMENTS.  287 

individuals,  tender  of  heart,  strong  of  will,  sound 
of  mind,  pure  of  purpose,  who  are  as  full  of  mirth 
as  a  nut  is  of  meat  ?  and  would  you  have  them 
abate  one  jot  or  tittle  of  that  beautiful  radiance 
that  gleams  over  the  sui'face  of  their  lives,  and 
lights  up  the  dark  paths  around  them,  and  so 
makes  "  a  sunshine  in  a  shady  place,"  because  — 
Because  what  ?  Put  the  case  as  strongly  as  you 
can.  Bring  in  St.  Paul,  as  you  certainly  wall.  '*  If 
meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no 
meat  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my 
brother  to  offend."  Grant  them  to  be  parallel 
cases,  —  which  they  are  not,  for  if  St.  Paul  did 
deny  himself  the  meat  which  had  been  offered  to 
idols,  he  could  get  plenty  more  which  had  not, 
whereas  our  ministers  are  warned  off  from  the 
whole  thing,  —  but  granting  them  to  be  parallel, 
—  suppose  by  abstaining  you  make  a  great  many 
more  to  offend  than  you  do  by  partaking,  what 
then  ?  If  a  minister  is  himself,  changing  his 
moods  according  to  his  occupations,  "  from  grave 
to  gay,  from  lively  to  severe,"  he  may,  and  prob- 
ably will,  run  counter  to  some  men's  ideal  of  a 
minister,  and  so  lose  influence  in  certain  quarters. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  puts  a  restraint  on 
himself,  checks  the  natural  flow  of  his  spirits,  and 
flats  out  into  a  dead  level  of  (falsely  so  called) 
dignity,  he  will,  it  seems  to  me,  run  counter  to  a 
great  many  more  ideals,  and  lose  a  great  deal 
more  influence.     He  will  practically  give    in   to 


288  AMUSEMENTS. 

the  notion  —  I  cannot  dignify  it  with  any  higher 
name  —  that  when  men  become  ministers  they 
cease  to  be  men.  They  turn  into  a  kind  of  or- 
ganic abstraction,  a  peripatetic  sermon,  —  some- 
thing that  may  lawfully  eat,  drink,  and  sleep,  but 
not  clap,  jest,  or  vote.  But  why  ministers  should 
unman  themselves  any  more  than  doctors,  or  law- 
yers, or  farmers,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive.  If 
it  is  right  for  lawyers  to  enjoy  a  joke,  and  to 
make  one  if  they  can,  why  is  it  not  right  for  min- 
isters ?  Every  man  is  responsible  for  all  the  good 
"w^hich  he  is  capable  of  doing,  —  no  more,  no  less. 
A  lawyer  is  bound  to  fulfil  every  duty  which  de- 
volves upon  him.  Angels  can  no  more.  The 
greatest  good  is  to  be  done  by  employing  every 
faculty  in  doing  to  its  utmost  relative  extent. 
God  gave  us  none  that  is  superfluous,  none  that 
must  be  lopped  off  before  we  can  serve  him  ac- 
ceptably. He  does  not  demand  the  sacrifice  of 
any,  but  the  consecration  of  every  power.  If  we 
find  people  maintaining  the  contrary,  we  ought  to 
disabuse  them  of  so  mischievous  an  idea,  —  not 
shape  our  course  as  if  it  were  a  correct  one.  We 
do  not  accept  the  rules  of  action  which  a  worldly 
man  adopts  for  himself;  why  should  we  those 
which  he  adopts  for  others  ?  If  he  is  not  trust- 
worthy to  guide  his  own  life,  he  certamly  is  not 
trustworthy  to  guide  ours.  What  absurdity  is  it 
for  me  to  check  my  natural  and  innocent  gayety, 
because  a  man  who  has  never  begun  to  shape  his 


AMUSEMENTS.  289 

own  life  by  Gospel  precepts,  and  has  never  im- 
bibed the  Gospel  spirit,  sets  up  the  idea  that  such 
gayety  is  inconsistent  with  religion  ?  'Why  is  my 
liberty  judged  of  another  man's  conscience,  espe- 
cially when  that  conscience  is  an  unenlightened 
one  ?  If  we  do  not  give  a  man  credence  when 
he  justifies  his  own  course,  why  should  we  when 
he  condemns  ours  ?  What  kind  of  a  rule  is  that 
wdiich  works  only  one  way  ?  What  kind  of  evi- 
dence is  that  which  is  invalid  against  one  man, 
but  valid  against  another  ? 

It  is  partly  the  fault  of  the  Christian  world,  that 
the  young  man  referred  to  went  away  disappoint- 
ed. "  Public  opinion  "  should  not  be  allowed  to 
fall  into  such  an  error  as  that  sprightly  conver- 
sation should  seem  to  be  incompatible  with  the 
warmest  piety.  If  the  young  man  had  been 
properly  educated,  he  would  have  known  that 
the  minister  could  sympathize  with  his  sadness 
none  the  less  for  having  just  sympathized  with 
gladness.  Nay,  he  w^ould  have  considered  it 
rather  an  indication  of  real  sympathy.  It  is  a 
little  sentimental,  but  a  very  true  saying,  that 

"  Hearts  that  vibrate  sweetest  pleasure 
Thrill  the  deepest  notes  of  woe." 

The  soul  that  easily  lays  hold  on  joy  lays  easily 

hold  on  sorrow.     Though  the  minister  was  not 

one  to  whom  he  could  open  his  mind,  it  was  not 

owing  to  the  "  animated  conversation,"  nor  to  the 

bowling-alley,   whatever   he    may  have    thought. 


290  AMUSEMENTS. 

The  minister  may  have  been  a  frivolous,  impious 
man,  a  cumberer  of  the  ground,  a  blind  guide,  a 
shepherd  whose  sheep  looked  up  and  were  not 
fed ;  but  that  did  not  indicate  it.  The  greatest 
gravity  of  demeanor  may  coexist  with  the  weakest 
character  and  the  pettiest  ends  ;  and  of  all  fri- 
volity, solemn  frivolity  is  the  most  repulsive.  It 
not  only  pains,  but  exasperates.  One  is  not  only 
annoyed  by  the  littleness,  but  indignant  at  the 
deception.  Good  sense  is  a  good  thing,  and  good 
nonsense  is  a  good  thing,  but  nonsense  setting  up 
to  be  sense  is  outrageous. 

What  punishment  is  severe  enough  for  him 
who  would  curtail  "  animated  conversation "  ? 
Who  of  us  that  has  been  dragged  through  weary 
hours  of  "  stale,  flat,  and  unprofitable  "  common- 
placeness  would  not  have  welcomed  the  advent  of 
any  one,  man  or  woman,  who  could  have  stirred 
■us  up  with  a  little  animation,  even  though  it 
had  been  transferred  bodily  from  the  rhymes  and 
chimes  of  Mother  Goose  ?  Who  of  us  that  has 
ever  known  the  genial  glow  and  happiness  which 
a  royal  mind  brings  when,  leaving  its  cares,  which 
never  are  burdens,  leaving  its  matters  of  state, 
leaving  all  the  insignia  of  its  royalty,  it  comes 
into  the  drawing-room  of  daily  life,  and  draws 
around  it  all  grace  and  gladness,  and  sportive 
fancy,  and  happy  love,  and  wild  winsomeness,  by 
a  spontaneous  outgush  of  the  same  blessed  and 
blessing  qualities,  —  who  that  has  ever  basked  in 


AMUSEMENTS.  291 

the  sunshine  of  such  a  presence,  but  must  feel  an 
uprising  of  wrath  against  that  prurient  piety  which 
dares  so  much  as  lay  a  finger  on  the  hem  of  its 
beautiful  garments  ? 

O  the  mischief  that  is  done  by  this  wanton, 
wilful,  wicked  endeavor  to  curtail  the  sources  of 
happiness  which  our  Creator  has  given  us  !  to  dig 
up  and  destroy  the  fair  growths  whose  roots  go 
deep  down  into  our  nature  !  It  is  a  Sisyphean  task. 
It  never  can  be  done  ;  for  it  is  a  crime  against  na- 
ture, and  nature  breaks  out  in  perpetual  protest. 
Its  evil  effects  are  everywhere  visible.  Young 
people,  unnaturally  restrained,  grow  stunted  and 
narrow,  or  burst  out  into  a  license  which  is  but 
the  travesty  of  liberty.  The  Word  of  God  is 
brought  to  bear  on  objects  which  do  not  come 
within  its  range.  The  anathemas  which  are  per- 
tinent only  to  guilt  are  launched  on  innocence, 
and  moral  distinctions  are  subverted.  Look  at 
dancing,  —  one  of  the  most  healthful,  the  most 
civil,  the  most  delightful,  and  the  most  beautiful  of 
amusements,  —  singularly  adapted  to  the  vitality, 
activity,  and  high  spirits  of  the  young,  and  greatly 
conducive  to  ease  of  manner,  grace  of  carriage, 
and  suavity  of  address  ;  yet  put  under  ban  by 
whole  communities,  on  the  most  frivolous  pre- 
texts. Some  honestly  think  it  wrong.  Why  ? 
Not  in  its  essence,  —  nobody  thinks  it  is  wrong 
in  itself,  —  but  because  ''it  leads  to  dissipation." 
But  it  does  not  lead  to  dissipation.     It  leads  away 


292  AMUSEMENTS. 

from  dissipation.  There  is  wliist, —  a  game  that 
can  find  employment  for  the  closest  attention,  the 
minutest  observation,  the  strongest  memory,  and 
the  soundest  reasoning,  yet  of  so  wide  a  sweep 
that  it  can  interest  and  delight  a  child  of  ten. 
Whole  communities  look  upon  this,  too,  as  a 
snare  of  the  Devil  to  entrap  souls.  Why  ?  Not 
because  it  is  wrong  of  itself,  but  "it  leads  to 
gambling."  But  it  does  not  lead  to  gambling. 
It  leads  away  from  gambling.  Let  a  family  of 
children  have  an  hour,  or  two,  or  three,  in  the 
evening,  devoted  to  social  amusement,  and  if  they 
have  all  been  working  during  the  day,  as  they 
ought,  this  is  none  too  much.  Suppose  them  to 
engage  in  dancing.  Some  one  goes  to  the  piano, 
and  the '  rest  —  father,  mother,  and  all  —  take  the 
floor.  Occasionally  their  young  friends  are  in- 
vited in  to  spend  the  evening,  or  such  portion  of 
it  as  they  are  allowed  before  sleep.  Occasionally 
they  spend  the  evening  out,  generally  accompa- 
nied by  father  or  mother,  or  both.  Perhaps  the 
little  ones  sit  down  with  their  parents  to  a  game 
of  whist,  —  the  very  youngest  very  eager  to  play 
his  very  best,  that  he  may  have  a  chance  to  play 
again.  The  evenings  are  varied  ;  sometimes  it  is 
checkers,  or  backgammon,  or  blind  man's  buff,  or 
singing,  or  reading  aloud,  but  every  evening  has 
in  its  bosom  something  pleasant  for  the  children 
to  look  forward  to,  and  back  upon.  The  home  is 
a  little  community,  with  its  round  of  happiness  as 


AMUSEMENTS.  293 

well  as  of  tasks  ;  will  dissipation  be  likely  to  in- 
vade such  a  home  ?  The  haunts  of  vice  are  the 
haunts  of  restlessness,  uneasiness,  unhappiness  ; 
what  attractions  have  they  for  one  who  can  find 
all  their  pleasures  without  their  pains  around  his 
own  hearth-stone  ?  Examine  statistics,  and  see 
how  many  of  the  patrons  and  victims  of  gambling- 
saloons  were  accustomed  in  their  youth  to  play 
cards  around  the  evening  table,  and  to  dance  be- 
fore the  evening  fire,  with  fathers  and  mothers 
who  loved  them  and  prayed  for  them  and  watched 
^  over  them. 

Christians  are  verily  guilty  in  this  matter.  Mul- 
titudes believe  and  avow  that  dancing  is  not  wrong, 
but  they  will  not  countenance  it  because  many  do 
think  it  wrong,  and  the  many  who  do  think  it 
wrong  think  it  not  wrong  in  itself,  but  dangerous 
in  its  associations  and  tendencies.  It  is  an  amuse- 
ment in  which  the  World  indulges,  and  therefore 
the  Church  must  give  it  up.  Absurd !  Let  Chris- 
tian families  adopt  it,  not  covertly,  apologetically, 
as  many  do,  but  honestly  and  openly,  and  its  as- 
sociations will  very  soon  come  round  right.  An 
innocent  thing  will  not  long  be  held  disreputable 
after  reputable  people  have  taken  it  up.  No  mat- 
ter if  the  World  does  talk  about  a  "  dancing 
Church"  and  a  "card-playing  Christian."  The 
World  does  not  decide  questions  of  right  and  wrong 
for  the  Church,  nor  shall  the  World  monopohze  the 
best  of  anything.     Let  the  World  understand  that 


294  AMUSEMENTS. 

tlie  Church  is  not  to  be  fended  off  from  any  occu- 
pation or  amusement  that  she  judges  wholesome, 
because  the  World  chooses  to  hoist  the  red  flag 
of  disease.  Let  the  Church  do  a  thinoj  because  it 
is  right,  not  because  the  World  will  pat  it  on  the 
shoulder,  and  say,  "  Good  child,  good  child."  Let 
the  Church  abstain  from  an  act  because  it  is  wrong, 
not  because,  if  she  does  it,  the  World  will  say, 
"  Behold,  thou  art  become  as  one  of  us."  It  is 
disgraceful  bondage,  —  an  insult  to  Christ.  His 
cause  does  not  want  the  patronage  of  the  World. 
If  it  cannot  stand  on  its  own  intrinsic  value,  let 
it  fall  at  once.  Moreover,  the  Christianity  that 
can  be  distinguished  from  worldliness  only  by  its 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  dancing,  is  a  very  in- 
significant article.  Let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men,  that  they,  seeing  your  good  works,  may 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  Be  so 
humble,  so  devout,  so  sincere,  so  honest,  so  help- 
ful, so  faithful  a  Christian,  that  the  World,  the 
flesh,  and  the  Devil  shall  say,  "  Dancing  cannot  be 
wrong,  for  he  dances."  You  can  hardly  read  your 
title  clear  to  mansions  in  the  skies,  you  can  have 
hardly  begun  to  live  the  Divine  life,  if  men  say, 
"  He  cannot  be  much  of  a  Christian,  for  he 
dances." 

I  acknowledge  that  the  amusements  in  question 
have  dangerous  tendencies,  but  I  should  like  to 
know  if  there  is  anything  in  the  world  that  has 
not.     They  lead  to  dissipation  and  gambling;  so 


AMUSEMENTS,  295 

eating  leads  to  dyspepsia,  and  drinking  leads  to 
drunkenness,  and  a  great  many  things  lead  to  a 
great  many  others.  But  because  men  have  been 
drowned  in  the  sea,  shall  we  never  step  into  a 
bath-tub  ?  Because  a  house  is  burned  down,  shall 
we  never  build  a  fire  in  the  kitchen-stove  ?  Be- 
cause some  people  tell  lies,  shall  other  people  not 
talk  at  all  ?  Because  one  man  has  the  heart-burn, 
and  another  delirium  tremens,  shall  there  be  no 
more  cakes  and  coffee?  Nay,  verily.  This  is 
not  God's  way  of  procedure.  He  gave  Adam  and 
Eve  permission  and  desire  to  eat  freely  of  every 
tree  in  the  garden,  with  one  exception,  and  that 
exception  was  within  easy  reach.  He  might  have 
saved  them  and  us  from  sin  and  suffering  by  pla- 
cing all  fruit  beyond  their  reach,  but  he  chose  not. 
With  a  full  knowledge  that  his  gift  would  be 
abused,  he  yet  did  not  witlihold  it.  In  like  man- 
ner, he  has  given  us  all  things  richly  to  enjoy. 
We  may  abuse  them,  turning  enjoymient  into  a 
sin,  but  that  is  not  the  fault  of  the  giver  or  of  the 
gift.  The  remedy  for  the  abuse  of  a  thing  is  not 
to  destroy  it,  but  to  use  it.  Destruction  should 
be  reserved  only  for  what  is  in  itself  wicked  or 
useless.  The  remedy  for  dyspepsia  is  pure  air, 
wholesome  food,  thorough  mastication  and  saliva- 
tion, regular  and  sufficient  exercise,  steady  occu- 
pation, and  ease  of  mind,  —  not  starvation.  Star- 
vation is  indeed  a  remedy,  but  it  is  a  fearfully 
expensive    one,  and  the   dwarfed  and   misshapen 


296  AMUSEMENTS. 

natures  of  many  of  our  young  people,  and  old' 
people  too,  show  how  fatally  injudicious  is  the 
policy  pursued  in  their  cultivation.  Amusements 
they  must  have,  —  pure,  wholesome,  lawful,  grace- 
ful if  you  will ;  but  if  you  will  not,  then  impure, 
ruinous,  disgraceful. 

There  is  great  disagreement  of  opinion  and 
practice  in  the  churches.  There  are  many  com- 
munities in  which  dancing  is  as  innocent  as  kite- 
flying, and  a  great  deal  more  common.  There 
are  many  Christian  families  in  which  whist  is  an 
acknowledged  and  ordinary  recreation.  This  fact 
should  have  its  influence.  It  should  lead  those 
who  disapprove  to  be  modest.  When  any  num- 
ber of  men,  whose  intelligence  is  respectable,  and 
whose  Christian  character  is  unexceptionable,  do 
something  of  which  you  disapprove,  but  which 
even  you  do  not  regard  as  a  sin  in  itself,  it  becomes 
you  to  be  measured  in  your  disapproval.  Because 
your  friend  is  as  good  and  as  sensible  as  you,  it 
does  not  follow  that  he  is  in  the  right  and  you  in 
the  wrong ;  but  it  does  follow  that  there  is  so 
much  basis  for  his  differing  opinion,  that  he  need 
not  be  a  knave  or  a  fool  for  holding  it.  Because 
a  dozen  churches  allow  dancing,  it  does  not  follow 
that  it  is  right,  and  your  church  must  go  to  dan- 
cing forthwith ;  but  it  does  follow  that  the  oppo- 
sition to  your  views  is  sufficiently  respectable  to 
suggest  the  possibility  that  you  may  be  wrong; 
and  there  is  a  possibility,  at  least,  that  such  oppo- 


AMUSEMENTS.  297 

sition  is  founded  on  a  need  of  nature,  and  not  on 
total  depravity.  And  another  thing  follows  :  when 
whole  communities  in  a  city  hold  such  opinions, 
sporadic  cases  in  villages  should  be  treated  with 
at  least  respect.  It  is  hardly  fair  to  hunt  a  man 
down  for  believing,  in  a  country  church,  what 
scores  and  scores  believe  and  practise  in  a  city 
church,  without  the  smallest  remark,  or  even  no- 
tice, from  anybody.  When  there  are  two  sides 
to  a  thing,  and  a  man  tells  you  he  thinks  it  is 
right  to  take  that  side,  you  have  nothing  further 
to  do.  You  may  give  him  your  own  views  as 
forcibly  as  you  please,  you  may  strive  to  enlighten 
his  conscience  by  every  means  in  your  power,  but 
you  may  not  attempt  to  coerce  him  by  any  of 
those  petty  persecutions  which  you  have  so  well 
at  command.  You  can  do  it.  If  you  are  both  by 
birth  and  education  narrow-minded,  it  is  not  at 
all  improbable  that  you  will  do  it,  and  a  good  deal 
of  mischief  into  the  bargain  ;  but  it  will  be  the 
old  Adam  in  you,  and  not  the  new,  that  will  get 
the  commission. 

Let  no  man  despise  amusements.  It  is  a  subject 
which  demands  the  most  careful  consideration. 
It  should  be  just  as  truly  a  part  of  the  Church 
economy  as  the  sacraments.  Mistakes  here  keep 
people  out  of  the  Church,  and  wound  weak  con- 
sciences, and  confuse  weak  brains,  and  prevent 
growth  of  grace  in  the  Church.  Let  our  Christian- 
ity be  comprehensive,  symmetrical,  well-developed. 

13* 


298  AMUSEMENTS. 

Let  our  young  people  bring  all  their  bounding 
spirits,  all  the  dew  and  freshness  and  gladness 
of  their  youth,  to  the  Lord,  —  assuredly  knowing 
that  they  are  made  in  the  very  image  of  God ; 
that  their  mirthfulness  came  from  him  just  as 
much  as  their  memories  ;  that  the  ringing  laugh 
and  the  merry  song,  in  their  proper  place,  are  ac- 
ceptable to  him,  as  well  as  the  broken  and  contrite 
heart,  and  the  fervent  and  effectual  prayer,  in  its 
place.  The  Church  wants  all  the  elasticity,  and 
cheerfulness,  and  sprightliness,  and  wdt,  and  humor, 
that  there  is  in  the  world,  whether  it  belongs  to 
the  young  people  or  the  old,  and  will  find  plenty 
of  work  for  it  to  do.  God  is  not  the  God  of  the 
dead,  but  of  the  living ;  not  of  the  sorrowful  only, 
but  of  the  rejoicing.  Feasting  and  fasting  can 
and  should  be  done  alike  to  his  glory.  Jesus  was 
present  not  only  at  the  tomb  in  Bethany,  but  at 
the  marriage  in  Cana.  I  know  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  be  present  at  merry-makings  now,  as 
well  as  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  He  is  the 
same  yesterday  and  to-day  and  forever.  He  does 
not  afflict  the  children  of  men  because  he  likes  to 
do  it.  He  rejoices  in  all  innocent  happiness.  The 
boy  need  not  abate  one  jot  or  tittle  of  his  love  for 
play,  because  of  his  love  for  God.  The  sudden 
upspringing  of  the  one,  does  not  necessitate  the 
decrease  of  the  other.  The  Christian  ought,  all 
other  things  befeig  equal,  to  be  in  school  the 
closest  student ;  on  the  play-ground,  the  hardest 


AMUSEMENTS.  299 

player ;  in  the  workshop,  the  nicest  workman ; 
behind  the  counter,  the  most  valuable  clerk ;  in 
the  battle,  the  sturdiest  fighter.  Whatsoever 
things  are  true,  whatsoever  things  are  honest, 
whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,  whatsoever 
things  are  of  good  report,  —  all,  all  belong  to 
Christianity. 

Christ  spoke  the  simple,  literal  truth,  when  he 
said  that  his  yoke  was  easy,  and  his  burden  light. 
When  the  followers  of  Christ  had  to  follow  him  to 
the  rack,  the  stake,  and  the  scaffold,  to  stripes, 
to  the  mouths  of  lions,  to  trials  of  cruel  mockings 
and  scourgings,  to  bonds  and  imprisonment,  there 
was  reason  to  speak  of  sacrifices.  But,  reluctant 
as  we  may  be  to  confess  it,  the  lines  have  fallen  to 
us  in  pleasant  places.  The  cup  which  our  Father 
hath  given  us  is  sweet,  as  well  as  healthful,  and 
it  is  no  mysterious  and  hidden  love  which  says, 
"  Drink  ye  all  of  it." 


X. 


GOD'S  WAY. 


ND  seeing  the  multitudes,  he  went  up 

into  a  mountain  :  and  when  he  was  set, 

his  disciples  came  unto  him.     And  he 

opened   his   mouth,   and   taught  them, 

saying, 

'^Blessed " 

*'  Blessed^^''  — fit  beginning  of  the  first  recorded 
public  discourse  of  Him  whose  life  on  earth  was 
the  blessing  of  the  world. 

In  following  those  sacred  feet  over  the  hills  of 
Judaea,  we  see  that  their  constant  errand  was  one 
of  love.  It  was  not  alone  that  great,  mysterious 
love  wherewith  he  loved  us  before  the  world  was, 
but  the  steadfast,  human  love,  the  love  of  the 
man-Christ,  the  tendern'^ss  which  displayed  itself 
constantly  in  every-day  life,  —  which  no  coldness 
could  chill,  no  stupidity  tire,  no  perversity  lessen, 
—  a  tenderness  which  it  should  be  our  strongest 
purpose  to  imitate,  as  it  is  our  highest  privilege  to 
share- 


GOD'S    WAY.  301 

And  the  common  people  heard  him  gladly. 
Great  multitudes  followed  him.  Populous  Galilee, 
stranger  Decapolis,  Jerusalem,  queen  city  of  Ju- 
daea, and  the  Pagan  countries  that  lay  beyond 
Jordan,  poured  out  their  ipyriads  to  listen  to  the 
words  of  one  who  spake  as  never  man  spake. 
From  lanes  and  alleys,  from  the  purlieus  of  pov- 
erty and  vice,  from  the  Ann  Streets,  the  Five 
Points,  the  St.  Giles's  of  Palestine  they  came,  the 
poor,  famishing  people,  overborne  in  the  great 
world-battle,  over-weary  with  laboring  up  the  Dif- 
ficult hills ;  the  obscure,  ignorant,  sad-eyed  people, 
with  whom  life  had  been  but  a  losing  game,  who, 
through  weakness  and  wickedness  had  made  little 
headway,  —  they  came  flocking  around  this  new 
light  whose  soft  shining  had  glimmered  down  even 
to  them.  They  brought  their  sick  to  this  wonderful 
Jesus,  whom  a  vague  rumor  called  the  Christ,  and 
he  healed  them.  They  brought  their  little  chil- 
dren, and  he  laid  loving  hands  upon  their  drooping 
heads,  and  blessed  them.  Strange  words  of  cheer 
fell  upon  their  sorrowful  hearts,  —  tender,  consol- 
ing, hopeful,  helpful  words.  "  That  ye  may  be 
the  children  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
Poor  and  miserable  and  blind  and  naked,  —  de- 
spised of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth,  domineered 
over  by  the  chief  priests  and  Pharisees,  could  they 
be  the  children  of  the  Lord  of  heaven  ?  How 
sweetly  on  their  anxious,  care-worn  hearts  fall  the 
affectionate  words,  "  Take  no  thought  for  the  mor- 


302  GOnS   WAY. 

row.  Your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth  that  ye 
have  need  of  all  these  things."  There  are  strong 
men  standing  before  him,  faint  with  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day,  and  his  loving  heart  bids 
them  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  There  is 
comfort  and  help  for  all.  None  are  sent  empty 
away.  None  are  so  insignificant  that  he  passes 
them  by.  No  service  is  so  lowly  that  he  will  not 
glorify  it.  Only  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  the  least 
of  these  little  ones  shall  have  its  reward,  —  shall  be 
laid  to  the  account  of  the  Kinp;  of  kings.  None 
are  so  great,  so  rich,  so  renowned,  that  he  bids 
them  trust  to  their  greatness,  their  riches,  their 
renown.  When  they  come  to  him  in  trouble,  he 
takes  them  just  as  readily  to  the  arms  of  his  lov- 
ing-kindness. The  outcast,  loathsome  leper  feels 
a  wild  hope  leap  up  in  his  heart,  yet  dares  not  ask 
the  boon  he  craves,  but,  bowing,  humbly  worships 
the  omnipotent  Teacher.  "Lord,  if  thou  wilt, 
thou  canst  make  me  clean."  "  I  will  ;  be  thou 
clean,"  is  the  instant  response,  and  at  one  gentle 
touch  the  leper  arises  a  new  man.  The  ruler 
turns  to  Jesus,  if  perhaps  his  young  daughter, 
lying  already  dead,  may  be  restored  to  his  arms, 
and  Jesus  takes  the  cold  hand  in  his,  and  life 
pulses  once  more  through  the  veins.  Mind  and 
body  claim  alike  his  care.  A  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief,  he  bears  in  his  own  the 
sorrow  and  the  griefs  of  all  other  hearts.    He  says 


GOD'S  WAY.  303 

to  the  palsied  cripple,  "  Son,  be  of  good  cheer,"  — 
to  the  long-suffering  woman,  "Daughter,  be  of 
good  comfort." 

He  never  brake  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quenched 
the  smoking  flax.  When  his  disciples,  small  in 
wisdom,  small  as  yet  in  faith,  were  terrified  at  his 
miraculous  approach,  he  did  not  even  chide  them 
that  their  long  intercourse  with  him  had  not  given 
them  more  confidence.  He  remembered  that  they 
were  dust,  and  hastened  to  reassure  them.  "  Be 
of  good  cheer.  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid."  He  knew 
tliat  the  truth  must  be  admitted  little  by  little. 
"All  men  cannot  receive  this  saying."  Even  in 
the  hour  of  parting  he  repressed  the  throbbing  of 
his  full  heart  in  compassion  for  their  weakness. 
"  I  have  many  things  to  say  to  you,  but  ye  cannot 
bear  them  now."  Where  men  saw  nothing  to 
pity,  he  pitied.  The  disciples  never  dreamed  that 
it  concerned  them  whether  the  multitudes  who 
hung  upon  their  master's  words  were  hungry  or 
not,  but  the  Master  had  compassion  on  them  be- 
cause they  had  nothing  to  eat,  and  he  would  not 
send  them  away  fasting.  Importunity  did  not  vex 
him.  The  blind  men  clamored  so  loudly  and  per- 
sistently, that  the  crowd  around  were  shocked  at 
the  indecorum;  but  Jesus  had  compassion  on  them, 
and  touched  their  eyes.  Hatred  did  not  inflame 
him.  Even  while  pronouncing  the  death-doom  of 
the  wicked  city  which  had  killed  his  prophets, 
stoned  his  messengers,  and  should  yet  crucify  him- 


304  GOUS   WAY. 

self,  he  wept  over  it,  yearning  with  more  than 
motherly  love.  Treachery  could  not  alienate  him. 
For  Peter's  shameful  weakness,  desertion,  and 
denial  there  was  only  the  earnest  question,  "  Lov- 
est  thou  me  ?  "  Trouble  could  not  move  him  to 
selfishness.  In  the  last  hours,  when  his  soul  was 
exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto  death,  and  his 
human  heart  craved  human  sympathy  and  found 
it  not,  —  even  then  his  gentle  reproach  sighed  it- 
self into  tender  excusing,  —  "  The  spirit  indeed  is 
willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak."  And  notwith- 
standing all  coldness,  indifference,  misunderstand- 
ing, betrayal,  his  last  bequest  was  love.  "  Lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world,"  —  and  while  lie  blessed  them,  he  was  part- 
ed from  them,  and  carried  up  into  heaven. 

Well  might  the  common  people  hear  him  glad- 
ly, —  him  who  made  the  lowliest  among  them 
kings  and  priests  unto  God.  Well  might  they 
stand  around  him,  a  living  breastwork  against  the 
hostile  Pharisees.  Well  might  they  come  unto 
him,  and  seek  him,  and  stay  him,  that  he  should 
not  depart  from  them.  Well  might  they  spread 
their  garments  in  the  way,  and  ring  out  his  trium- 
phant'entry  into  the  Beautiful  City,  "  Hosanna 
to  the  Son  of  David  !  blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.     Hosanna  in  the  highest ! " 

I  see  no  reason  why  Christianity  should  not  be 
advanced  in  the  world  in  precisely  the  same  ratio 
as  Christian  teachers  follow  the  example  of  Christ : 


GOUS   WAY.  305 

and  by  Christian  teachers  I  mean  those  who  are 
Christians  at  all ;  for  every  man  is  set  to  be  a 
preacher  of  Christ,  apart  from  any  laying  on  of 
hands.  Christ's  mission,  indeed,  was  not  of  conso- 
lation alone.  It  was  of  denunciation  also.  He 
was  a  savor  of  death  unto  death,  as  well  as  of  life 
unto  life.  But  salvation  was  the  end,  not  destruc- 
tion. Destruction  was  in  full  play  already.  He 
came  to  seek  and  to  save.  Glad  tidings  of  great 
joy  to  all  people,  —  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth  peace,  good-will  to  men,  —  was  the 
birth-song  of  the  Messiah.  And  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  his  severest  wrath  was  visited,  not 
upon  the  people,  however  vile,  but  upon  the  lead- 
ers, the  respectable  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  the 
honorable  men  who  dishonored  the  land ;  teachers 
who  perverted  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord ;  shep- 
herds whose  hungry  sheep  looked  up  and  were  not 
fed  ;  dogs  in  the  manger,  who  would  neither  go 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  themselves  nor  suffer 
others  to  go  in.  On  them  fell  the  weight  of  h\^ 
woes.  For  the  people,  blind,  misled,  ignorant,  ful 
of  petty  interest,  petty  ambitions,  petty  schemes 
incapable  of  broad  views,  barren  of  high  aspira- 
tions, treading  the  narrow  circle  of  their  narrow 
lives  with  scarcely  a  look  beyond,  —  for  them 
there  was  instruction,  sympathy,  encouragement ; 
a  pointing  to  something  higher,  —  to  a  future  rest 
for  the  weary,  to  many  mansions  for  the  homeless ; 
words  that  should   lead  them,  but  not  too  rapidly 


306  GOUS   WAY 

or  too  suddenly,  to  the  serene  uplands  that  suburb 
the  Heavenly  City.  "  O  earth,  earth,  earth,  hear 
the  word  of  the  Lord."  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye 
my  people,  saith  your  God." 

In  all  lives  there  is  an  under-current  of  sadness. 
In  many  lives  there  is  more  of  shadow  than  of  sun. 
The  burden  presses  heavily.  There  are  few  homes 
in  which  disease  and  death  have  not  made  sad  in- 
roads. There  are  few  hearts  which  do  not  bear 
the  foot-prints  of  disappointment,  —  none  which  do 
not  need  the  glad  tidings  of  great  joy,  —  the  "  Be 
of  good  cheer  "  wath  which  Christ  so  often  saluted 
the  suffering  believer  when  he  was  on  earth.  It 
is  not  that  the  Bible  should  be  expurgated,  —  that 
milk  and  w^ater  should  be  substituted  for  meat,  — 
but  that  the  people  should  be  comforted  in  sorrow 
and  calmed  in  trouble,  —  that  Christ  should  be 
shown.  Saviour,  Deliverer,  Redeemer  from  sin  and 
suffering,  —  that  faint  emotions  should  be  recog- 
nized, feeble  efforts  encouraged,  little  leanings  to 
good  made  the  most  of,  knottiest  points  reserved 
for  dexterous  fingers,  —  that  it  should  not  be  so 
continually  dinged  into  men's  ears  that  they  are 
corrupt,  as  it  should  be  whispered  that  Christ  is 
holy.  Is  this  preaching  "  smooth  doctrine  "  ? 
Well,  what  of  it  ?  Did  not  Christ  come  on  pur- 
pose to  make  things  smooth  for  us  ?  The  world 
is  surely  rough  enough.  It  bristles  with  thorns  ; 
its  brambles  are  continually  rasping  us.  All  along 
these  four  thousand  years  the  way  is  tracked  with 


GOUS   WAY.  307 

bloody  feet.  Let  us  have  the  smooth,  sweet  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  oil  of  joy,  and  balm  of  conso- 
lation, grapes  of  Beulah,  and  honey  of  Canaan  ; 
for  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven,  that  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish. 
Smooth  doctrine!  Is  it  not  Christ's  own  doctrine? 
And  if  it  was  not  too  smooth  for  the  Jews,  is  it 
too  smooth  for  us  ?  Is  the  American  populace  any 
viler  than  the  Hebrew  populace  ?  Yet  for  one 
word  of  rebuke  to  them  the  Master  spoke  a  hun- 
dred of  counsel  and  comfort.  It  was  not  "  Shame 
upon  your  pride  !  "  but  "  Blessed  are  the  poor  in 
spirit  \  "  —  not  "  Your  cruelty  is  odious,"  but 
"  Blessed  are  the  merciful !  "  And  who  does  not 
know  that  people  are  a  thousand  times  more  likely 
to  be  lured  to  virtue  than  shamed  from  vice  ? 

Now,  of  all  times,  let  us  learn  what  that  mean- 
eth,  "  I  will  have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice."  A 
sound  of  battle  is  in  the  land,  and  there  is  sorrow 
on  the  sea.  The  people  may  come  up  never  so 
bravely  to  the  crisis,  conscious  of  its  magnitude, 
and  fired  with  sacred  fury.  But  no  enthusiasm  of 
victory,  no  heroism  of  sacrifice,  can  dazzle  out  the 
agony.  Aching  hearts  go  up  to  the  house  of  the 
Lord  on  every  Sabbath  day,  hearts  wrung  with  the 
pain  of  parting,  heavy  with  fearful  foreboding,  — 
anxious,  sad,  unrestful.  It  is  not  that  they  regret 
their  offering.  They  would  not  keep  back  theii 
precious  things  from  the  altar;  but  when  the  smoke 
of  sacrifice  is  gone  up,  and  they  sit  silent  in  theii 


308  GOUS   WAY. 

desolate  homes,  all  the  waves  and  the  billows  of 
sorrow  rush  over  them. 

O,  if  they  could  only  see  Jesus  standing  with 
outstretched  arms  !  If  they  could  only  hear  the 
Divine  voice:  "Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid."  "My  peace  I  give  unto 
you."  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless."  "  In 
the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation,  but  be  of  good 
cheer  ;  I  have  overcome  the  world." 

"  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God."  Fathers  and  mothers,  whose  sons  have 
gone  to  battle,  whose  sharpest  pang  at  parting  was 
lest  it  might  be  forever,  who  would  have  given  up 
your  beloved  joyfully  at  your  country's  call  had 
you  but  been  assured  that  their  eternal  happiness 
was  secure,  —  take  comfort. 

To  the  soul,  time  and  space  are  not.  The  body 
knows  them  well,  as  foes  to  be  killed,  or  friends  to 
be  enjoyed,  advantages  to  be  secured,  or  difficulties 
to  be  surmounted.  But  the  soul  cares  for  none  of 
these  things.  With  one  bound  she  overleaps  them 
all,  and  stands  in  the  storied  past,  or  the  mystical 
future.  She  wanders,  at  her  own  sweet  will, 
amonor  the  delio;hts  of  Eden,  or  of  the  Millennium. 
The  eye  looks  admiringly  upon  the  soft  gleam  of 
the  evening  star  in  the  glowing  West,  and  anon 
the  soul  is  there.  The  eye  reads  of  the  great 
white  throne,  and  the  soul  bows  before  it.  In 
all  her  motions  she  is  impetuous.  Thought,  will, 
hope,  despair,  passion,  require  but  a   moment  for 


GOD'S   WAY.  309 

the  intensest  action.  A  decision  is  instantaneous. 
A  life-long  purpose  is  formed  while  the  pendulum 
swings  once.  Gratitude,  love,  and  adoration 
may  flood  the  heart  at  one  throb,  and  fertilize  it 
forever.  The  young  hero  who  has  just  come  back, 
pale  and  still,  to  the  home  he  left  "  burning  with 
high  hope,"  went  away  from  us  in  a  moment.  One 
moment  the  fatal  bullet  crashed  in  to  the  lair  of 
life  ;  the  next,  the  startled  soul  sped  out  into  the 
great  unknown.  But  before  him  to  God  went  a 
prayer.  From  the  already  paling  lips  burst  forth 
one  sudden  —  who  shall  say  unheard  —  cry,  ''  My 
God !  " 

"  My  God  !  "  What  hope  and  love  and  trust, 
what  awe  and  shock  and  terror  have  not  those 
words  embodied  !  When  calamity  comes  sudden- 
ly, and  the  soul  is  hurled  from  her  routine,  how 
quickly  her  earthliness  and  selfishness,  even  such 
as  is  innocent,  fall  off  from  her,  and  she  turns, 
strong  and  straight,  to  her  Maker !  In  these 
eventful  moments  there  needs  no  argument  to 
prove,  no  inducement  to  persuade.  Instinctively 
she  recognizes  her  Author.  True  as  the  rivulet 
to  the  ocean,  this  life  flows  on  toward  the  Infinite 
life.  Repentance  and  love  and  faith  unfeigned 
may  be  all  compacted  in  a  heart-beat.  It  has  be,en 
quaintly  said  of  a  sailor  to  whom  death  came  in  a 
misstep  among  the  shrouds  : 

"  Betwixt  the  mast-head  and  the  ground 
God's  mercy  sought,  is  mercy  found." 


310  GOUS   WAY. 

In  her  every-day  life  the  soul  is  dainty  and  co- 
quettish. She  treads  coyly.  She  advances  with 
retrogressions.  Never  so  trivial  a  fear,  or  whim, 
or  fancy,  shall  suffice  to  keep  her  back  from  God  ; 
but  In  the  awful  presence  of  a  great  fact,  or  a  haz- 
ardous future,  she  rends  away  instantly  all  affecta- 
tions, and  lays  hold  on  God  with  a  strong,  unre- 
laxlng  grapple  ;  and  God,  be  sure,  will  not  wrench 
off  the  hand  that  chngs  to  him.  The  soul  that 
flies  to  him  in  fear,  and  the  soul  that  nestles  to  him 
in  love,  shall  alike  find  protection  and  consola- 
tion. It  may  be  only  at  the  close  of  a  long  life, 
that  the  claims,  or  the  attractiveness,  or  the 
power  of  God  is  felt.  Wrong,  wrong  !  Yet,  so 
good  is  God,  so  long-suffering,  so  rich  in  mercy, 
that  even  then  he  forgiveth  iniquity,  transgression, 
and  sin.  Even  at  the  eleventh  hour  his  hand  is 
not  shortened,  nor  his  ear  deaf;  for  his  mercy  en- 
dureth  forever.  Let  none  despair  for  his  loved 
ones.  The  same  love  is  around  them  now  that  has 
been  around  them  from  the  first  moment  that  saw 
them  cradled  in  your  arms.  Commit  your  care 
unto  God,  for  he  careth  for  you  and  for  them. 
Pray  for  them,  be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  sea- 
son, and  trust  in  God.  Their  hearts  are  tender 
when  they  think  of  you,  and  God  is  very  near  a 
heart  that  loves.  The  solemn  exigencies  of  the 
hour  are  messages  from  him.  The  danger  that 
impends  and  confronts  is  his  agent  for  good  ;  and 
as  your  boy  walks  his  night-watch,  or  lies  down 


GOD'S    WAY.  311 

beneath  the  stars,  or  rises  up  for  the  mevitable 
conflict  and  the  possible  death,  be  sure  the  fa- 
therly God,  whom  you  worship,  is  not  far  off. 
Never  to  your  ear  may  come  his  murmur  of  peni- 
tence and  prayer.  His  soul  may  sigh  itself  out 
amid  the  smoke  and  thunder  of  battle.  But  Christ 
walks  among  the  wounded  and  the  dying,  pouring 
in  oil  and  wine,  healing  the  broken  in  heart,  and 
binding  up  their  wounds.  He  hears  their  confes- 
sion and  petition  or  ever  it  be  breathed,  and  long 
may  be  the  bliss  though  short  the  shrift.  Trust 
in  God. 

"  My  God ! "  it  is  the  human  heart  bearing  in- 
voluntary witness  to  the  fatherliness  of  the  Father. 
The  brave  boy,  full  of  vigorous  life,  met  death  at 
the  onset.  The  young  heart  that  was  so  warm 
and  true,  that  left  behind,  with  thoughtful  tender- 
ness, its  love  and  blessing,  and  last  good-by,  went 
not  to  an  unknown  God.  How  it  had  throbbed 
before,  we  do  not  know ;  but  if,  in  that  last,  wild 
pulse,  it  claimed  sonship  and  redemption,  who  shall 
say  that,  through  Infinite  love,  it  found  not  recog- 
nition ? 

And  this  God  is  our  God  for  ever  and  ever. 
He  wdll  be  our  guide  even  unto  death.  We  can 
never  begin  too  early  to  love  him.  We  do  not 
know  that  now  is  ever  too  late. 

The  Old  Testament  has  sometimes  fallen  into 
disrepute,  because  of  the  sternness  and  severity 
wdiich  it  displays.     The  God  of  the  Old  Testa- 


312  GOns    WAY. 

ment  has  been  thought  by  some  to  be  an  aveng- 
ing God,  —  strict  to  mark  miquity,  —  visiting 
transgression  and  sin  with  his  wrath  and  curse, 
ordaining  wars  of  extirpation,  —  reveahng  power 
indeed,  and  inspiring  awe,  but  not  awakening 
love,  or  exciting  any  of  those  warm  emotions  that 
fill  and  flood  the  soul  in  that  New  Testament 
wherein  Christ  records  his  behests.  It  is  true 
that  law  is  prominent  in  the  Old,  and  Gospel  in 
the  New  Testament.  Sinai  is  not  Calvary.  Yet, 
scattered  up  and  down  those  sacred  pages  are 
countless  and  unfailing  tokens  of  the  loving-kind- 
ness of  the  Father.  The  way  is  rocky  and  rough, 
as  needs  must  be,  but  fairest  flowers  spring  all 
along,  and  their  fragrance  pours  on  the  air  a  per- 
petual sweetness.  From  Genesis  to  Malachi,  as 
well  as  from  Matthew  to  the  final  Revelation,  wit- 
ness after  witness  testifies  that  God  is  gracious  and 
long-sufiering,  slow  to  anger,  and  of  great  mercy. 
The  Father  and  the  Son  are  one,  and  their  name 
is  love. 

We  can  see  it  in  God's  treatment  of  Elijah. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  time  in  the  life  of  that 
wise  and  pious  prophet,  when  he  was  utterly  dis- 
couraged and  dispirited.  He  had  shown  himself 
faithful  and  fearless.  He  had  dared  to  beard  the 
lion  in  his  den.  He  had  dared  to  prophesy  evil 
to  the  atrocious  Ahab.  Face  to  face,  at  peril 
of  his  life,  he  hurled  back  Ahab's  accusation,  and 
declared,  "  I  have  not  troubled  Israel,  but  thou 


GOUS    WAY.  313 

and  tliy  father's  house."  He  had  dared,  pubUcly, 
before  the  king  and  the  people,  to  slay  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  prophets  of  Baal.  Then  his 
courage  failed  him.  The  moment  he  found  that 
Jezebel  was  on  his  track,  he  lost  heart  and  hope. 
She  was  a  woman  whose  ability  was  equalled  only 
by  her  wickedness  ;  and  when  a  woman  gives  her 
mind  to  iniquity,  she  can  generally  do  a  great  deal 
more  in  that  Hne  than  a  man.  So,  when  he  heard 
the  oath  that  Jezebel  had  sworn  against  him,  he 
immediately  arose  and  went  for  his  life ;  and  reach- 
ing the  wilderness,  he  sat  down  under  a  juniper- 
tree,  and  in  bitterness  of  soul  requested  for  himself 
that  he  might  die.  If  God  saw  and  spoke  and 
acted  like  a  man,  Elijah  would  most  likely  have 
received  a  severe  reprimand.  "  What  is  this  ?  " 
an  earthly  Master  would  have  said.  "  Why 
this  sudden  eclipse  of  faith  ?  Whence  this  cul- 
pable and  monstrous  ingratitude  ?  What  ground 
have  I  ever  given  you  for  distrust  ?  Have  I  not 
always  protected  you  ?  Has  a  single  hair  of  your 
head  been  harmed?     When  Israel  was  famishincr 

o 

and  panting  through  the  long  years  of  drought, 
did  I  not  feed  you  daily,  pressing  even  the  birds 
of  the  air  into  your  service  ?  Did  I  not  restore  a 
dead  child  to  life  at  your  prayer,  and  send  down 
fire  to  consume  your  burnt-offering  ?  Have  I 
ever  deserted  you  at  a  pinch  ?  Have  I  not  al- 
ways honored  you  before  the  people  ?  And  now, 
through  fear  of  one  wicked  woman,  you  are  ready 

14 


814  GOUS   WAY. 

to  die  !  Die,  then,  since  you  are  weak  enough  to 
desire  it !  Leave  my  service,  if  you  have  so  little 
faith.  I  will  choose  a  worthier  man  to  be  my 
servant." 

God  did  not  so.  Our  Father  in  heaven  knew 
his  fainting  prophet's  frame,  and  remembered 
that  he  was  but  dust.  Elijah  was,  doubtless, 
over-weary  from  his  headlong  fright  and  flight. 
In  the  days  of  excitement  that  had  preceded, 
probably  his  meals  had  been  irregular,  liis  sleep 
broken,  and  his  health,  in  consequence,  had  be- 
come impaired.  He  had  left  his  servant  behind, 
and,  unaccustomed  himself  to  minister  to  his  own 
personal  wants,  he  doubtless  experienced  grave 
annoyance  from  that  source.  Uncertain  of  what 
lay  before  him,  faint,  perhaps,  from  lack  of  food, 
and  weary  with  his  rapid  journey,  the  doors  of 
his  soul  were  wide  open  to  the  demons  of  de- 
spair, and  Satan  is  always  ready  to  enter  in  and 
take  possession.  His  body  acted  on  his  soul, 
his  soul  reacted  on  his  body,  and  altogether  he 
was  in  a  very  melancholy  way.  But  God  knew 
all  about  it,  and  what  did  he  do  ?  Chide  him 
and  punish  him,  and  so  break  the  bruised  reed  ? 
No  ;  the  first  thing  the  angel  did  was  to  prepare 
him  a  nice  warm  supper,  and  make  him  eat. 
Blessed  forerunner  of  those  truly  Christian  min- 
isters who  make  straight  through  the  yearning 
stomachs  of  starving  men  a  highway  for  the  re- 
ligion of  Christ !     And  after  Elijah  had  still  fur- 


GOUS   WAY.  815 

ther  been  refreshed  by  sleep,  the  gentle  touch  of 
the  angel  awoke  him  once  more,  and  the  heavenly- 
voice  compassionately  bade  him  eat  because  the 
journey  is  too  great.  Not  a  syllable  of  chiding. 
He  was  not  yet  strong  enough  to  receive  it.  But 
hiding  in  a  cave  among  the  mountains,  the  word 
of  the  Lord  came  to  him,  "  What  doest  thou  here, 
Elijah  ?  "  Even  then  the  reproach  is  more  in  the 
accents  than  in  the  words.  Lightning,  and  earth- 
quake, and  great,  strong  wind,  were  not  hurled 
against  him,  but  the  still,  small  voice  melted  into 
his  soul.  More  than  this,  his  sympathizing  Lord 
gave  him  also  EHsha  for  a  disciple,  companion,  sub- 
stitute, and  successor,  and  comforted  him  with  the 
assurance  that  he  was  not  the  sole  survivor  of 
God's  worshippers,  but  that  seven  thousand  were 
left  in  Israel  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal. 
We  hear  no  more  of  Elijah's  want  of  faith.  God's 
metho'd  with  him  was  successful.  When  after- 
wards he  was  commanded  to  go  down  to  Ahab, 
he  went  straightway,  and  boldly  charged  him  with 
having  wrought  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord. 
Kings,  or  queens,  or  soldiers  seem  thenceforth  to 
have  had  no  terrors  for  him  ;  and  having  fought  a 
good  fight,  the  chariot  of  fire  and  the  horses  of 
fire  bore  him  to  the  heavenly  city. 

The  story  of  Jonah  is  one  at  which  people  are 
somewhat  inclined  to  look  askance.  But,  in  judg- 
ing of  all  narratives,  you  do  not  fasten  upon  one 
incident  to  the  exclusion  of  the  rest.     You  look 


316  GOUS   WAY. 

upon  the  whole,  and  upon  its  bearings.  Of  all 
the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  one  we  can  least 
spare  is  Jonah.  It  is  at  once  most  human  and  most 
divine.  It  teaches,  in  the  most  gentle,  delicate,  and 
exquisite  manner,  a  lesson  which  every  one  sorely 
needs,  and  it  shows  to  us  God,  the  God  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  God  of  Sinai,  the  God  of  justice, 
a  God  of  fatherly  tenderness,  compassion,  forbear- 
ance,—  caring,  loving,  forgiving.  We  cannot  give 
up  Jonah  for  an  improbability.  We  believe  thou- 
sands of  them  every  day.  A  generation  that  is 
credulous  of  BHtz,  Anderson,  and  Houdin  need 
not  be  incredulous  of  the  Bible.  If  the  skill  of  the 
created  can  give  the  lie  to  our  senses,  surely  we 
need  not  try  to  shorten  the  hand  of  the  Creator. 

God  chose  Jonah  to  carry  his  message  to  Nin- 
eveh,—  Jonah,  an  insubordinate,  cowardly,  nar- 
row-minded, short-sighted,  testy,  hot-tempered, 
cruel,  impulsive,  insolent  man,  —  not  at  all  the 
person  we  should  have  suggested  for  such  an  em- 
bassy. But  if  Jonah  had  not  been  Jonah,  where 
would  our  lesson  be  ? 

God  commanded  Jonah  to  go  to  Nineveh.  He 
straightway  arose,  and  started  for  Tarshish.  God 
told  him  to  go  one  way,  and  he  went  another. 
When,  however,  shipwreck  and  ruin  stared  him  in 
the  face,  a  gleam  of  light  shone  out  in  his  char- 
acter. Frankness,  courage,  and  something  that 
looks  like  disinterested  benevolence,  appeared  in 
his  confession  and  direction :  "  I  know  that  for  my 


OOUS   WAY.  317 

sake  this  great  tempest  is  upon  you.  Take  me  up, 
and  cast  me  forth  into  the  sea ;  so  shall  the  sea 
be  calm  unto  you."  When  the  generous-hearted 
sailors,  after  vainly  striving  to  prevent  so  dreadful 
a  fate,  had  reluctantly,  and  with  many  protests  and 
prayers,  sacrificed  him,  —  one  for  many,  —  when 
the  waters  compassed  him  about,  and  he  went 
down  to  the  bottoms  of  the  mountains,  —  his  dor- 
mant faith  awoke,  and  he  remembered  the  Lord. 
With  perverse  ignorance,  he  had  thought  to  escape 
from  that  Divine  presence  by  going  to  Tarshish ; 
but  when  the  earth  with  her  bars  was  about  him 
forever,  he  looked  again  toward  the  holy  temple, 
—  and  looked  not  in  vain.  God  graciously  ac- 
cepted his  repentance,  and  started  him  once  more 
on  his  jouiTiey. 

Up  and  down  the  streets  of  Nineveh  walks  the 
prophet,  tolling  the  death-knell  of  the  city.  "  Yet 
forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown." 
To  that  exceeding  great  city,  full  of  silver  and 
gold  and  pleasant  furniture,  full  of  gayety  and 
wealth  and  fashion  and  splendor,  that  solemn 
voice  must  have  come  like  the  trump  of  the  arch- 
angel. "  Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be 
overthrown.*'  All  the  beauty  and  glory  shall  be 
swept  away.  For  all  the  merchandise  of  gold, 
and  silver,  and  precious  stones,  and  pearls,  and 
purple,  and  silk,  and  scarlet,  —  for  the  voice  of  harp- 
ers and  musicians,  and  of  pipers  and  trumpeters, 
for  the  voice  of  the  bride o;room  and  of  the  bride, 


318  GOUS   WAY. 

for  the  maiden  behind  her  lattice,  and  the  little  chil- 
dren playing  in  the  streets,  —  there  shall  be  the 
abomination  of  desolation.  No  wonder  the  stoutest 
heart  quailed,  and  the  boldest  cheek  blanched. 

But  things  took  a  turn  upon  which  Jonah  had 
not  calculated.  The  people  believed  God.  A 
national  fast  was  proclaimed,  and  most  sacredly 
and  solemnly  kept.  From  the  king  on  the  throne 
to  the  baby  in  the  cradle,  —  yes,  even  to  the  horse 
in  the  stable,  and  the  ox  in  his  stall,  —  the  nation 
clothed  itself  in  sackcloth,  and  cried  mightily  unto 
God,  and  God  heard  their  cry,  and  did  not  do  the 
evil  which  he  had  threatened. 

What  was  the  effect  upon  Jonah  ?  There  came 
One  after  him,  who  wept  over  the  approaching 
destruction  of  a  great  city.  "  O  Jerusalem,  Je- 
rusalem, thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest 
them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I 
have  gathered  thy  children  together,  as  a  hen  gath- 
ereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would 
not ! "  Nineveh  had  not  stoned  her  prophet. 
She  heeded  his  words,  and  humbled  herself  before 
his  God.  Yet  he  took  it  as  a  personal  grievance 
that  she  was  not  to  be  destroyed.  It  was  nothing 
to  him  that  a  whole  population  was  not  to  be  sudden- 
ly cut  off  from  sweet  life,  —  nothing  to  him  that, 
where  sin  had  abounded,  grace  should  much  more 
abound.  His  own  reputation  loomed  up  before  him 
larger  than  the  life  of  a  million  souls.  His  proph- 
ecy would  not  come  true,  and  nothing  was  of  any 


GOnS   WAY.  319 

account  compared  with  that.  "  Just  as  I  said  !  '* 
exclaims  Jonah.  "  I  knew  God  was  gracious, 
and  kind,  and  merciful,  and  would  not  do  what 
he  threatened.  That  was  why  I  went  to  Tar- 
shish.  And  now  here  I  am,  disgraced,  and  I 
might  as  well  die  as  live."  O  bold,  bad  man! 
How  dared  he  speak  thus  to  the  Most  High  God  ? 
How  could  he  speak  thus  to  the  most  loving 
Saviour?  How  wrest  even  infinite  tenderness 
into  bitter  and  insolent  reproach  ?  Why  did  not 
God  smite  him  on  the  spot?  But  there  is  no 
thunderbolt,  —  only  the  gentle  rebuke,  "  Doest 
thou  well  to  be  angry  ?  "  And  Jonah,  moody  and 
sullen,  takes  up  his  station  outside  the  city,  to  see 
if  perhaps,  after  all,  it  may  not  be  destroyed,  and 
himself  honored ;  but  even  while  sitting  there, 
nursing  his  evil  passions,  the  great  God  conde- 
scends to  reason  with  him.  A  gourd  springs  up, 
sheltering  him  from  the  Southern  sun,  and  his 
selfishness  is  exceeding  glad.  A  blight  destroys 
it,  the  sun  beats  upon  his  unprotected  head  once 
more,  and  he  swings  back  again  to  the  opposite 
extreme,  and  declares  life  not  worth  the  living. 

"Doest  thou  well  to  be  angry  for  the  gourd?" 
asks  God,  slow  to  anger. 

"  I  do  well  to  be  angry,  even  unto  death,"  is 
the  fierce  and  passionate  reply. 

And  then  comes  the  application,  —  the  lesson. 
"  Thou  hast  had  pity  on  the  gourd,  for  the  which 
thou  hast  not  labored,  neither  madest  it  grow; 


320  GOD'S   WAY. 

and  should  not  I  spare  Nineveh,  that  great  city, 
wherein  are  more  than  sixscore  thousand  persons 
that  cannot  discern  between  their  right  hand  and 
their  left  hand,  and  also  much  cattle  ?  " 

Ah !  Jonah,  the  lesson  was  not  for  you  alone, 
but  for  heady,  reckless,  selfish,  obstinate  human 
nature  everywhere. 

If  God  were  as  strict  to  mark  iniquity  as  man, 
where  should  we  appear  ?  We  often  speak  of  His 
justice,  but  God's  justice  is  better  than  man's 
mercy.  Not  a  sparrow  falleth  to  the  ground  with- 
out his  notice.  The  little  dimpled  arras  of  the 
Ninevite  babies,  stretching  blindly  out  to  him, 
took  hold  of  his  strength,  and  held  back  the  blow. 
Nay,  more  than  this,  his  loving  kindness  heard  the 
bleating  of  the  sheep,  and  the  low  of  the  uncon- 
scious kine,  and  for 

"  The  young  lambs  bleating  in  the  meadows. 
The  young  birds  chirping  in  the  nest, 
The  young  favvns  playing  with  the  shadows, 
The  young  flowers  blooming  toward  the  west," 

he  repented  him  of  the  evil,  and  spared  the  city. 
In  old  time,  a  test  question  was,  "  Are  you  will- 
ing to  be  damned  for  the  glory  of  God?"  One 
rather  inclines  to  ask  some  of  our  modern  sons  of 
thunder,  "  Are  you  willing  that  men  should  be  saved 
for  the  glory  of  God  ?  "  It  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  all  will  eventually  be  redeemed  to  holiness 
and  happiness.  So  far  as  the  Bible  goes,  if  any 
one   thing  is   therein  clearly  taught,  both  directly 


GOD'S   WAY,  321 

and  by  implication,  it  seems  to  be  that  there  is  a 
limit  to  probation.  But  the  more  clearly  this  is 
seen  to  be  a  fact,  the  more  terrible  does  it  become ; 
and  when  I  hear  the  tone  which  is  sometimes 
adopted  in  speaking  of,  and  with,  those  who  hold 
opposite  opinions,  I  wish  to  ask,  "  Are  you  willing^ 
my  Orthodox  brother,  that  the  world  should  be 
saved?  If,  when  you  come  to  the  gate  of  heav- 
en, you  should  find  the  sacred  portals  flung  wide 
open  to  all,  would  you  not  feel  a  little  disappoint- 
ed ?  Would  your  heart  give  one  great  bound  of 
sudden  and  unlooked-for  joy,  or  would  your  first 
thought  be,  "  Well,  well !  here  is  a  pretty  di- 
lemma !  Everybody  pressing  in,  and  what  is  to 
become  of  my  arguments  and  positions  ?  "  I  sup- 
pose we  are  willing  that  men  should  go  to  heaven, 
but  we  wish  them  to  go  our  way.  So  far  as  one 
may  judge  from  appearances,  if  they  will  not  go 
our  way,  some  will  not  feel  much  satisfaction  at 
seeing  them  there  at  all.  We  should  be  more 
disconcerted  at  the  sudden  discomfiture  of  our 
system,  than  we  should  be  rejoiced  at  the  acces- 
sion of  unlooked-for  happiness.  Jonah  thought 
himself  extremely  orthodox.  Armed  with  a  special 
command,  he  felt  quite  secure  in  launching  his  de- 
nunciations right  and  left;  and  it  did  not  in  the 
least  agree  with  his  idea  of  the  way  things  ought 
to  be  done,  to  have  God  strike  in,  and  baffle  all  his 
calculations. 

Blessed  be  God  that  he  does  strike  in.     Jonahs 
14*  u 


322  GOD'S   WAY. 

may  fret  and  fume  and  pout  and  sulk,  but  he 
will  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure.  They  cannot 
hold  him  back  from  mercy,  though  that  mercy  dash 
their  theories  to  pieces.  They  cannot  monopolize 
truth,  and  force  all  purchasers  to  their  stall.  They 
cannot  barricade  heaven,  and  refuse  admittance 
to  all  whose  passports  are  not  vised  at  their  office. 
They  may  hew  out  turnpikes,  and  say  to  the  Most 
High,  "This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it";  but  He 
that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  is  not  confined  by  our 
boundary-lines.  His  path  is  in  the  great  waters. 
His  footsteps  are  not  known.  Are  God's  people 
willing  in  the  day  of  his  power  ? 

O  that  men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  his  good- 
ness., and  speak  and  practise  his  loving-kindness! 
As  the  mantle  of  Elijah  fell  upon  Elisha,  so  may 
the  mantle  of  God's  charity  fall  upon  us,  —  mak- 
ing us  more  gentle,  and  considerate,  and  kind,  and 
thoughtful,  and  loving,  —  that  we  may  win  back 
the  wanderer,  instead  of  driving  him  farther  on 
in  the  by-ways  of  sin,  —  console  the  downcast, 
instead  of  adding  to  his  despondency  by  harshness, 
—  and  in  all  things  follow  Him  whose  feet  are 
beautiful  upon  the  mountains,  and  whose  messen- 
gers are  anointed  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the 
meek,  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  comfort 
all  that  mourn,  to  give  unto  them  beauty  for  ashes, 
the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 


XI, 


THE    LAW    OF    CHRIST. 


)E  observed,  not  long  since,  a  man 
endeavoring  to  drive  a  load  of  wood 
into  a  neighboring  yard.  The  team 
consisted  of  a  horse  and  a  pair  of 
oxen.  The  yard  was  up-hill,  the  load  was  heavy, 
the  horse  balky,  and  the  man  furious  ;  so,  instead 
of  "  a  long  pull,  a  strong  pull,  and  a  pull  altogeth- 
er," they  gave  each  a  separate  jerk  in  his  own 
viirection.  The  man  passed  from  passion  to  pro- 
fanity, the  horse  dashed  right  and  left,  the  load 
grew  palpably  heavier,  and  the  yard  more  and 
more  up-hill.  Meanwhile,  the  patient  oxen  were 
the  chief  sufferers.  They  pulled  with  all  their 
might  whenever  they  had  a  chance,  but  the  wil- 
ful, selfish  horse  backed  and  twisted  and  pawed, 
and  prevented  their  exertions  ;  and  though  all  the 
drawing  that  was  done  was  done  by  them,  the  long, 
fierce  whip,  in  the  hands  of  the  enraged  and  indis- 
criminate driver,  came  down  on  the  back  of  horse 


324  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

and  ox  alike.  It  was  a  great  pity.  The  task  was 
not  intolerable.  One  strong,  steady,  continuous 
effort  would  have  accomplished  it ;  but  the  selfish- 
ness of  one  member  of  the  firm,  and  the  injudi- 
ciousness  of  another,  spoiled  the  whole.  So  the 
man  shouted,  and  the  whip  cracked,  and  there 
was  a  great  irritation,  and  the  work  was  not  done, 
after  all. 

Then  through  the  din  and  discord  came  softly 
stealing  the  sweet  words  of  Paul :  "  Bear  ye  one 
another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ." 

"Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens."  The  way  is 
long,  and  a  troop  passes  over  it  continually.  There 
is  no  point  where  we  cannot  find  lamentation  and 
weeping  and  great  mourning.  There  are  weary 
feet,  feeble  knees,  bending  shoulders,  aching  hearts. 
There  are  broken  hopes,  disappointed  ambition, 
frustrated  plans,  mortified  pride,  wounded  vanity, 
slighted  love,  delayed  success,  detected  guilt,  mis- 
placed confidence,  shallow  affection,  loneliness, 
poverty,  shame,  desolation,  disease,  death.  All 
these  we  can  pass  by  with  a  sneer,  with  indiffer- 
ence, or  contempt,  or  disgust,  and  so  make  the 
burden  heavier.  It  is  in  our  power,  if  we  will,  or 
if  we  are  not  careful  to  will  otherwise,  to  give  an 
added  bitterness  to  the  cup  that  already  overflows. 
We  can  stand  still,  and  keep  back  the  helping 
hand,  the  encouraging  smile,  the  reassuring  tone, 
and  thus  make  up-hill  work  for  the  struggling  saint 
or  the  returning  sinner.     We  can  go  further,  and, 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  325 

by  wanton  neglect  or  a  perverse  rejection  of  our 
own  duties,  add  to  those  of  our  neighbor.  The 
burden  which  of  rio;ht  belongs  to  us,  w^e  can  throw 
upon  our  brother's  shoulders,  already  overladen. 

But  on  the  other  hand  lies  a  glorious  possibil- 
ity. We  can  so  walk  that  the  road  shall  resound 
with  songs  and  thanksgiving.  We  can  strengthen 
the  weak  and  confirm  the  feeble.  We  can  offer 
sympathy  to  the  sorrowful,  balm  to  the  wounded, 
comfort  to  the  afflicted.  We  may  draw  back 
shuddering  from  the  sin,  but  we  can  hold  out  help 
and  hope  to  the  sinner.  If  there  is  a  palpable 
germ  of  good,  we  can  develop  it,  and  if  there  is 
not,  we  can  dig  for  it.  We  can  be  on  the  watch 
to  discover  whose  burden  bears  heavily,  and  bend 
our  own  necks  to  it.  We  can  forbid  the  great 
question  of  our  life  to  be,  "  How  shall  I  get  on 
best  ?  "  and  ask  instead,  "  How  can  I  best  speed 
others  on  the  w^ay  ?  " 

How  might  this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
become  the  pleasant  land  of  Beulah  !  Our  bur- 
dens would  become  light  while  we  were  striving 
to  lighten  others.  The  chilled  traveller  saved  his 
own  life  in  sa^^ng  that  of  the  perishing  man,  but 
his  fellow-traveller  passed  on,  and  w^as  punished. 
In  the  sorrows  of  others  we  forget  our  own.  In 
helping  others  we  help  ourselves.  By  keeping 
our  shoulders  pertinaciously  to  our  wheel,  we  shall 
not  any  more  than  get  out  of  the  mire,  while,  if  we 
give  a  lift,  here  and  there,  when   our  brother  is 


326  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

stuck  fast,  we  shall  get  to  the  end  just  as  soon,  and 
have  a  pleasant  journey  besides. 

"  The  law  of  Christ."  There  are  many  points 
of  doctrine  hard  to  be  understood.  The  Chris- 
tian religion  has  mysteries  which  even  the  angels 
desire  to  look  into,  and  which  we  cannot  fathom. 
Through  all  our  life  we  shall  grope  in  the  outer 
courts  of  many  a  truth,  contenting  ourselves  per- 
force with  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen.  But  this  law  of 
Christ  is  one  which  we  can  fully  know  and 
promptly  do.  Simple,  definite,  explicit,  he  who 
runs  may  read,  and  he  who  runs  the  fastest  may 
read  the  best.  We  need  never  be  at  a  loss 
whether  or  not  we  are  the  children  of  God.  We 
need  not  be  over-anxious  lest  our  calling  and  elec- 
tion be  not  sure.  The  test  is  always  at  hand.  The 
law  came  from  Sinai  with  thunderings  and  light- 
nings and  earthquakes  ;  but  the  law  comes  from 
Christ  in  a  still,  small  voice,  and  love  is  its  fulfil- 
ment. Its  precept  is,  "  Whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 
Judging  ourselves  by  this  rule,  the  best  of  us  are 
none  too  good,  and  the  most  of  us  are  intolerable 
—  to  our  fellow-sinners  ;  —  not  intolerable  to  the 
long-suffering  Father,  not  intolerable  to  the  dear 
Redeemer,  who  knoweth  our  frame,  who  remem- 
bereth  that  we  are  dust,  and  so  bears  with  us,  and 
lets  us  live  on,  if  perchance  the  earthly  dust  may 
one  day  "  wear  celestial  glory." 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  327 

Christian  brethren,  of  whatever  name,  or  sect, 
or  nation,  this  is  the  seal  of  your  apostleship. 
This  is  the  essence  of  your  creed.  Do  you  ful- 
fil the  law  of  Christ  by  bearing  one  another's 
burdens  ? 

When  we  Ipok  at  what  Christianity  has  done 
for  the  world,  we  thank  God  and  take  courage. 
"When  we  look  at  what  has  not  been  done,  at  what 
remains  to  be  done,  we  are  ready  to  lose  heart, 
and  cry  out,  "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  " 
When  we  see  the  nations  that  have  been  reclaimed 
from  idolatry  to  the  living  God,  the  temples  that 
have  been  reared  to  his  worship,  the  houses  that 
have  been  opened  for  the  fatherless  and  widow, 
the  diseased  in  body  and  mind,  the  afflicted  and 
distressed  of  whatever  name  and  nation,  —  when 
we  see  the  kindly  spirit  of  that  tender  religion  that 
seeketh  not  its  own,  springing  up  around  us  in 
deeds  of  charity  and  love,  —  we  can  almost  beheve 
that  our  eyes  have  seen  the  salvation  of  the  Lord 
But  we  turn  the  leaf,  and  another  picture  darkens 
before  us.  It  is  not  that  a  great  multitude  do  not 
go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord,  but  that  greater 
multitudes  press  down  to  the  chambers  of  death. 
The  charities  well  up  sweetly  still,  but  they  well 
up  in  a  desert,  and  the  breath  of  the  Simoon 
sweeps  over  them,  and  burning  sand  lies  heaped 
around  them,  hot,  arid,  life -forbidding.  The 
leaven  is  so  little,  and  the  lump  so  great,  that 
faith  can  scarcely  look  forward  to  the  time  when 


328  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

the  whole  shall  be  leavened.  It  Is  eighteen  hun- 
dred years  since  the  song  of  peace  on  earth,  good- 
will to  men,  rang  down  from  the  skies  of  Judaea, 
and  yet  the  tu-ed  earth  finds  no  peace.  For  eigh- 
teen hundred  years  the  religion  of  Christ,  which, 
whether  true  or  false,  is  conceded  to  be  the  best 
religion  ever  revealed  by  God,  or  devised  by  man, 
has  been  preached  and  prayed  and  sung  and  lived, 
and  yet  it  has  hardly  begun  to  take  hold  of  the 
life  of  the  world.  Not  to  mention  the  tribes  of 
men  who  have  never  heard  the  name  of  Christ, 
nor  the  nations  to  whom  the  story  of  his  birth  and 
life  and  death  seem  but  an  idle  tale,  nor  those 
who  have  adopted  it  but  to  wrest  it  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  judgment,  reason,  intellect,  and  manhood, 
we  have  but  to  look  at  our  own  country,  state, 
town,  chm-ch,  heart,  and  we  need  not  trouble  our- 
selves about  abstractions  of  total  depravity,  for  we 
shall  find  on  our  hands  more  of  the  concrete  arti- 
cle —  total  or  otherwise  —  than  we  can  readily 
manage.  We  are  like  a  wide-reaching,  thinly- 
settled  country,  over  which  a  great  army  marches 
in  victorious  career.  The  old  standards  go  down 
before  it,  and  new  ones  are  run  up ;  but  after  the 
army  is  passed,  there  is  not  very  much  difference. 
A  new  banner  streams  on  the  air,  but  matters  in 
general  go  on  very  mucli  as  they  did  before. 

One  of  the  points,  and  in  truth  the  most  com- 
mon one,  in  which  we  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God,  and  of  the  duty  which  Christ  enjoins,  is  a 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  329 

want  of  consideration  for  others.  In  a  general 
way  we  doubtless  desire  to  make  other  people 
happy,  and  to  walk  by  the  golden  rule ;  but  we 
make  a  rather  bungling  performance  of  it.  The 
trouble  lies  in  our  application  of  the  theory.  The 
Bible  says,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self"; we  agree  to  it  all,  point  out  to  our  children 
the  beautiful  spirit  of  the  Bible,  and  then  go 
away,  and  do  not  love  our  neighbor  as  we  do  our- 
selves. We  would  not,  perhaps,  actually  cheat 
him  in  a  bargain,  any  more  than  we  would  cheat 
ourselves.  We  would  not  burn  his  house,  any 
sooner  than  we  would  our  own.  We  would 
make  just  as  strenuous  efforts  to  save  his  property 
if  it  were  endangered.  We  do  him  a  good  turn 
when  we  can  just  as  well  as  not,  and  even  when 
.it  is  positively  inconvenient.  But  walking  home 
from  church  with  a  vivid  recollection  of  what  you 
saw  in  the  choir  during  the  singing  of  the  last 
hymn,  you  say,  ''What  a  bold,  affected  girl  that 
Miss  Smith  is !  The  effect  of  her  fine  contralto 
voice  is  quite  spoiled  by  her  airs  during  singing." 
You  would  be  very  much  displeased  to  have  Mr. 
Smith  say  so  about  your  daughter.  ''  But,"  you 
answer,  "  if  my  daughter  is  affected,  I  expect  peo- 
ple to  say  so,  whether  I  like  it  or  not.  It  might 
reach  her  ears,  and  cure  her  of  her  affectation.  I 
would  not  go  around  decrying  her  to  every  one, 
but  I  consider  it  no  harm  to  say  to  you  what  I 
think  about  her." 


330  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

Perhaps  not.  There  is  scarcely  more  than  a 
show  of  amiabihtj,  and  not  even  a  show  of  reason, 
in  the  dogma  that  one  must  never  speak  of  a  per^ 
son  unless  one  can  say  something  good  about  him. 
It  is  quite  right,  and  often  edifying,  to  discuss 
people's  faults  and  follies  in  the  proper  time  and 
spirit,  and  with  the  proper  persons.  It  resolves 
moral  indistinctnesses,  helps  us  to  clearer  views, 
shows  us  how  such  and  such  things  appear  to 
the  eyes  of  our  friends,  and  gives  us  thereby  en- 
couragement and  warning  to  guide  our  own  con- 
duct; but  in  this  very  place  there  is  great  danger 
lest  we  do  not  leave  a  broad  enough  margin.  We 
do  not  give  elbow-room  to  modifying  circumstan- 
ces and  to  contrary  possibilities.  We  take  a  view 
from  our  own  stand-point,  and  pronounce  judg- 
ment as  if  there  were  no  other.  Miss  Smith,  so 
far  from  being  bold  or  affected,  is  in  truth  timid 
to  a  fault.  It  is  positive  torture  to  her  to  stand  in 
that  quartette-choir,  confronting  the  congregation. 
It  is  only  by  the  most  earnest  appeals  that  she 
has  been  induced  to  do  it.  The  very  boldness 
and  affectation  which  you  notice  is  only  her  na- 
tive shyness,  trying  to  hide  itself,  and  overshooting 
the  mark. 

A  mother,  observing  that  the  fruit-dish  was  pre- 
maturely empty,  said  to  her  little  daughter,  "  Why, 
Lizzy,  what  has  become  of  all  the  apples  ?  Have 
you  eaten  them?"  "No,"  answered  Lizzy,  "I 
haven't  eaten  one."      Lizzy's  mother  had  seen 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  831 

her  eating  more  than  one,  and  she  was  somewhat 
shocked  at  what  she  thought  was  Lizzy's  false- 
hood ;  but  Lizzy  persisted  that  she  "  had  n't  eaten 
one."  After  a  great  deal  of  questioning,  it  came 
out  that  Lizzy  meant  that  there  was  one  apple 
which  she  had  not  eaten,  but  her  little  stammer- 
ing tongue  found  a  difficulty  in  conveying  the 
idea. 

"I  don't  beheve  Mrs.  S.  is  very  much  of  a 
lady,"  said  one,  of  a  new  neighbor.  "  She  was 
talkincr  so  loud  this  mornino;  that  I  heard  her 
plainly  as  I  went  by  the  house,  till  I  got  clear  up 
to  the  corner."  After  Mrs.  S.  had  been  in  town 
awhile,  it  transpired  that  her  mother,  who  lived 
with  her,  was  very  deaf,  and  the  loud  words  were 
probably  addressed  to  her. 

A  poor  old  woman  who  was  never  sensitive 
about  her  poverty,  age,  or  ailments,  used  to  cause 
much  mirth  in  the  minds  of  certain  young  people, 
because,  though  she  pretended  to  be  very  lame 
from  rheumatism,  and  seemed  to  walk  with  great 
difficulty  when  she  first  arose,  yet,  no  sooner 
was  she  a  few  rods  from  the  house,  and  partially 
out  of  sight,  than  she  stepped  off  as  sprightly  as 
need  be.  The  young  people  have  now  grown  up 
into  rheumatism  themselves,  and  have  ascertained 
from  doleful  experience  that  it  was  the  nature  of 
rheumatism,  and  not  of  "  Aunt  Harriet,"  which 
made  her  aged  limbs  stiff  and  unwieldy  after  long 
inaction,  and  gradually  recover  suppleness  by  ex- 
ercise. 


332  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

You  hear  of  a  woman  lecturing,  or  otherwise 
breaking  through  the  ordinary  routine  of  her  sex, 
and  you  wrap  the  robes  of  your  womanhood  more 
closely  around  you,  and  congratulate  yourself  on 
your  feminine  delicacy,  reserve,  and  modesty 
(that  perhaps  could  not  lecture  if  it  tried),  and 
deprecate  female  ambition,  and  discontent  with 
one's  allotted  sphere,  and  neglect  of  appropriate 
duties, — while,  if  you  could  look  into  the  lecturer's 
heart,  you  would  see  very  likely  no  dream  of  fame, 
but  of  flannel  petticoats  for  her  little  ones,*  peace 
and  rest  of  mind  for  an  invalid  husband,  plenty 
for  an  aged  and  infirm  mother,  help  for  a  strug- 
gling brother,  salvation  for  a  beloved  sister.  You 
would  see,  perhaps,  a  delicacy  and  modesty  as 
much  greater  than  yours,  as  the  intellect  is  strong- 
er ;  battling  with  want  and  discouragement  and  ad- 
verse fate  ;  neglecting  no  duty,  but  forced  by  the 
pressure  of  many ;  sighing  for  no  broader  arena 
than  the  household  hearth,  on  which,  alas !  the 
fire  burns  dim  and  low  ;  rising  at  last,  weak  in- 
deed, but  strong  in  the  righteousness  of  its  pur- 
pose ;  conscious  of  being  about  to  exile  itself 
from  the  circle  of  sympathies  in  which  it  would 
delight  to  share,  yet  marching  bravely  to  battle, 
though  the  most  brilHant  success  must  be  defeat, 
—  a  martyr  without  the  crown.  O  women  ! 
when  a  woman  goes  out  from  among  you,  be 
sure  there  is  a  cause.  Be  sure  that,  whatever  of 
*  See  Mrs.  Southworth's  Autobiography. 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  333 

vanity  or  weakness  there  may  be  in  her  charac- 
ter, her  womanhood  is  stronger  than  it  all.  Be 
sure  she  is  di'awn  or  driven  by  a  power  whose 
might  you  do  not  see,  and  cannot  measure.  Be 
sure  there  are  Hons  in  the  way  with  which  she 
has  grappled  in  a  death-struggle,  and  by  all  the 
gentleness  and  tenderness  and  love  of  your  own 
sheltered  womanhood,  by  all  your  hope  of  future 
good  for  the  little  ones  who  cluster  about  your 
knee,  and  whose  future  paths  you  cannot  trace 
nor  know  what  Fate  may  have  in  store  for  them, 
deal  gently,  which  is  only  justly,  with  these  and 
such  as  these. 

"  The  crowd,  they  only  see  the  crown, 
They  only  hear  the  hymn, 
They  mark  not  that  the  cheek  is  pale, 
And  that  the  eye  is  dim." 

We  go  home  from  our  shops  and  offices  and 
fields  comfortable  and  tidy  and  well-to-do.  On 
our  way  we  pass  by  our  neighbor's  house.  The 
fences  are  down,  and  the  clapboards  hanging,  the 
blinds  broken,  the  panels  loose,  the  paint  worn 
dingy,  the  door-step  fallen  in,  the  garden  over- 
grown with  weeds,  over-trampled  by  cows,  over- 
rooted  by  pigs  ;  and  we  condemn,  in  no  measured 
terms,  the  thriftless,  shiftless,  lazy  owner,  who 
hangs  around  the  tavern  and  the  grocery,  while 
his  health  and  house  are  going  to  ruin  ;  but  we 
do  not  see  the  thriftless,  fretful,  complaining  wife, 
whose  whining  voice,  continued  fault-finding,  un- 


334  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

washed  floors,  and  ill-cooked  food  liave  under- 
mined his  strength,  taken  away  all  hope  from  his 
heart  and  all  spring  from  his  life.  Or,  we  pour 
out  the  vials  of  our  wrath  upon  her,  knowing  noth- 
ing of  the  invalid  and  half  imbecile  mother  who 
gave  her  child  all  the  mind  she  had,  and  wore  out 
the  remnant  of  her  own  weary  life  in  a  madhouse, 
leaving  her  daughter  to  the  untender  mercies  of 
an  ignorant,  drunken  father,  without  prop  for  her 
weakness,  or  culture  for  any  strength  she  might 
possess.  No,  we  know  nothing  of  all  this.  We 
can  know  nothing  of  it.  All  we  see  is  the  sin, 
without  the  temptation  ;  the  fault,  without  the 
palliation  ;  the  weakness,  without  the  cause  ;  the 
appearance,  without  the  reality.  We  cannot  tell 
the  difference  between  simple  preoccupation  and 
haughtiness.  A  shrinking  constitutional  sensitive- 
ness may  look  precisely  like  vanity.  Bashfulness 
masks  itself  under  affectation.  Misunderstanding 
blunders  into  apparent  untruthfulness.  Shyness 
protects  itself  behind  the  breastplate  of  pride. 
Deep  emotion  blinds  our  eyes  with  the  flash  and 
sparkle  of  levity.  Lifa  is  a  masquerade.  Men 
and  women  come  and  go  in  dominos,  sometimes 
of  settled  purpose,  sometimes  involuntarily,  some- 
times unconsciously. 

Two  inferences  may  be  drawn  ;  one,  that,  since 
we  cannot  know  all  the  premises,  we  shall  be 
guiltless,  even  if  we  do  arrive  at  wrong  conclu- 
sions ;  the   other,  that,  since  we  do  not  know  all 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  335 

the  premises,  we  should  leave  large  margin  for 
the  unknown.  Which  of  the  two  inferences  we 
act  upon  will  depend  on  whether  our  object  is  to 
justify  ourselves  or  arrive  at  truth. 

The  persons  towards  whom  we  most  need  to  exer- 
cise considerateness,  are  those  with  whom  we  come 
oftenest  and  most  closely  in  contact ;  while  the 
tendency  is  the  other  way.  We  are  tolerably 
polite  and  considerate  towards  those  whom  we 
see  only  occasionally;  and  too  apt  to  be  thought- 
less of  the  feelings,  comfort,  antecedents,  and  sur- 
roundings of  those  who  sit  by  our  own  firesides. 

There  is  a  class  of  persons  in  our  land,  who,  if 
common  report  be  true,  have  appropriated  to  them- 
selves an  undue  share  of  Adam's  transgression. 
They  not  only  fall  into  divers  temptations  una- 
wares, but  "  have  a  strange  alacrity  in  sinking." 
Like  poor  Edmund  Sparkler,  if  there  is  any  pos- 
sibility of  a  mistake's  being  made,  they  are  sure 
to  make  it.  They  do  not,  like  the  rest  of  the 
world,  occasionally  do  a  foolish  thing,  but  they 
never  "  deviate  into  sense." 

Editors  of  religious  newspapers,  city  missiona- 
ries, evangelical  preachers,  and  benevolent  men 
generally,  may  be  somewhat  incredulous  as  to  the 
existence  of  such  a  class  ;  but  when  I  say  that  I 
refer  to  our  Irish  female  servants,  I  am  sure  that 
American  mistresses  will  rise  en  masse^  and  declare 
that,  so  far  from  exaggerating,  the  half  has  not 
been  told.     Cannot  every  housekeeper  who  reads 


336  THE  LAW  OF   CHRIST. 

these  words  recall  Bridgets  and  Ellens  and  Marys 
by  the  dozen,  whose  moral  memories  were  exceed- 
ingly treacherous  on  the  score  of  collars  and  stock- 
ings, who  persisted  in  mopping  the  kitchen  floor 
with  the  dish-towel,  or  spicing  the  apple  pies  with 
pepper,  or  plunging  the  knives  into  hot  water? 
Any  lingering  remains  of  scepticism  may  be  dis- 
sipated by  observing  with  what  fatal  facility  the 
kitchen  dynasties  are  overthrown,  —  the  O'Fla- 
hertys,  the  O'Mulligans,  and  the  O'Bradys  strut- 
ting their  little  hour  upon  the  stage,  in  brilliant 
and  rapid  succession,  and  then  seen  no  more. 

The  inefficiency  of  servants  has  been  made  the 
topic  of  female  conversation  till  it  has  become 
proverbial,  and  no  wonder.  It  is,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  evil  with  which  the  American  house- 
keeper has  to  contend.  Nerves,  temper,  health 
itself,  are  worn  out  in  the  unceasing  conflict  with 
blundering  heads  and  awkward  hands  ;  and  after 
Mrs.  Jones  has  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the 
day,  she  is  surely  entitled  to  whatever  crumb  of 
comfort  she  can  find  in  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Smith 
is  fighting,  inch  by  inch,  in  the  same  good  cause. 
Mr.  Jones  may  be  somewhat  tired  of  hearing  the 
changes  rung  on  this  one  theme,  but  it  is  a  safety- 
valve  which  he  will  do  well  to  think  twice  before 
closing,  either  by  petulance  or  ridicule. 

To  deny  the  existence  or  extent  of  the  evil,  is 
useless.  That  there  is  a  great  wrong,  or  a  great 
many  little  wrongs,  somewhere,  is  an  obvious  fact. 


THE  LAW  OF   CHRIST.  337 

To  charge  home  these  wrongs  to  their  authors 
would  be,  however,  a  difficult  task.  Many  wo- 
men consider  themselves  innocent  martyrs  to 
Irish  incapacity,  and  would  be  shocked  at  the 
slightest  insinuation  of  blame  on  their  own  part. 
Nevertheless,  in  many  cases,  the  mistress  is  more 
at  fault  than  the  servant. 

Under  the  old  Jewish  Theocracy,  the  rights  of 
servants  were  recognized,  their  family  membership 
acknowledged,  and  their  comforts  cared  for.  How 
much  of  this  is  true  in  our  day  ?  We  complain 
that  our  servants  render  us  mere  eye-service,  but 
do  we  deserve  any  other  ?  Do  we  seek  to  estab- 
lish any  other  relation  than  that  of  employer  and 
Employed  ?  Do  we  remember  that  God  hath 
made  us  of  one  blood,  —  that  they  are  our  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  influenced  like  ourselves  by  love 
and  fear  and  hope,  travelling  with  us  to  one  judg- 
ment-seat, to  be  judged  by  one  Lord,  who  was 
crucified  alike  for  them  and  for  us  ?  Do  we  re- 
member that  by  so  much  as  we  are  superior  to 
them  in  position,  education,  and  character,  by  so 
much  is  their  welfare  in  our  care  while  our  sphere 
intersects  theirs,  —  that  we  are  just  as  truly,  if  not 
just  as  far,  responsible  for  them  as  for  our  chil- 
dren ?  We  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  yet 
many  gather  morning  and  evening  in  the  pleas- 
ant parlor,  and  commend  themselves,  their  wives, 
and  their  little  ones  to  the  care  of  the  Heavenly 
Father,  and  pray  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion  and 
15  '  V 


338  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST, 

the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom,  while  "  the  girl  " 
plods  on  her  wearisome  way  in  the  kitchen,  be- 
yond hearing,  perhaps  beyond  thought.  I  know 
that  the  priests  are  said  sometimes  to  forbid  at- 
tendance on  family  worship;  but  let  us  at  least 
ascertain  that  this  is  the  case  with  our  own  par- 
ticular servants,  before  we  refuse  or  neglect  to  cast 
around  them  the  shelter  of  our  daily  prayer. 

Again,  do  we  on  the  Sabbath  day  remember  the 
commandment.  Thou  shalt  do  no  work,  thou,  nor 
thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant  ?  Do  we 
so  arrange  their  duties  that  they  can  attend  church 
at  least  half  the  day  ?  We  may  believe  that  their 
faith  is  corrupt,  but  it  is  better  than  none.  Not 
even  a  Romish  priest  so  bars  the  doors  of  heaven 
that  a  humble,  penitent  soul  cannot  enter.  Even  if 
it  were  otherwise,  we  have  no  right  to  appropriate 
the  time  which  God  has  given  them  for  holy  time. 
As  far  as  in  us  lies,  we  should  see  that  they  keep 
the  Sabbath  holy,  but  at  any  rate  we  ought  to  be 
sure  that  they  have  a  Sabbath  to  keep  holy. 

We  complain  of  the  gregarious  habits  of  our 
servants.  We  dole  out  the  weekly  or  semiweekly 
leave  of  absence,  and  wonder  they  can  be  so  in- 
considerate as  to  ask  an  occasional  extra  evening. 
We  look  suspiciously  on  their  visitors,  and  some- 
times go  so  far  as  to  forbid  them  to  receive  their 
friends.  It  is  true  that  they  often  do  have  a 
remarkable  number  of  dead  relatives,  whose  fu- 
neral rites  they  are  called   on    to   perform,   and 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  339 

of  burly  "  cousins  "  with  filthy  pipes  and  a  rich 
brogue,  —  nor  is  it  agreeable  to  h^ve  a  "wake" 
in  the  kitchen  every  night.  If  our  kitchen- 
girls  were  only  cooking-machines;  patented  by 
"  Wheeler  and  Wilson,"  wholesale  restrictions 
would  do  very  well.  But  as  they  are  endowed 
with  throbbing,  yearning,  hungry  human  hearts, 
the  Gordian  knot  is  not  to  be  slashed  in  that  way. 
Even  people,  with  all  the  aid  of  books,  music, 
games,  family  joys,  and  common  interests,  find 
an  evening  now  and  then  hang  heavily  on  their 
hands.  How,  then,  can  we  condemn  an  ignorant 
girl,  barren  of  mental  resources,  with  small  pleas- 
ure in  the  past,  and  small  hope  for  the  future,  to  a 
dreary,  desolate  solitude  ?  "  The  pity  of  it,  lago, 
the  pity  of  it."  There  is  a  golden  mean  between 
solitude  and  dissipation.  A  servant  might  give 
you  the  names  and  residences  of  half  a  dozen  of 
her  friends.  If  their  character  is  good,  let  her 
receive  their  visits  as  often  as  their  mistresses  will 
allow  them  to  come.  She  should  understand,  in 
this  and  in  other  matters,  that  you  are  acting  for 
her  interests  as  well  as  your  own.  This  involves 
some  trouble,  to  be  sure,  but  it  is  in  the  end  far 
less  trouble  to  take  the  bull  by  the  horns,  than 
to  be  forever  tossed  on  those  horns. 

If  we  wush  our  children  to  be  happy  at  home, 
we  try  to  make  home  attractive.  Does  the  same 
principle  obtain  with  servants  ?  Do  we  ever 
think  of  making  a  home  at  all  for  them  ?     Is  a 


340  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

room  made  pleasant  for  their  reception  ?  A  few 
yards  of  straw^  matting,  a  few  rolls  of  ninepenny 
paper,  a  cotton  table-cover,  one  or  two  engrav- 
ings, a  cheap  vase,  a  whole  looking-glass,  a  plain 
rocking-chair,  a  pair  of  white  curtains,  do  not 
cost  much,  —  the  price  of  a  fall  bonnet  will  pay 
for  them  all,  —  yet  what  a  change  would  they 
work  in  most  "girls'  rooms."  When  we  complain 
that  our  servants  loiter  over  their  work,  dragging 
through  twelve  hours  what  might  as  well  be  done 
in  six,  we  should  do  well  to  consider  whether 
we  offer  them  any  inducement  to  finish  it  earlier. 
Have  they  anything  pleasant  to  look  forward  to, 
or  must  they  simply  sit  down  among  the  pots  and 
kettles  over  which  they  have  been  working  all 
day  ?  If  they  can  read,  do  we  take  any  pains  to 
provide  them  with  books  or  papers  suited  to  their 
capacity,  and  thus  incite  them  to  despatch  ?  If 
they  cannot  read,  do  we  encourage  them  to  learn, 
or  offer  to  teach  them  ?  If  their  work  is  well 
done,  do  we  notice  it,  or  do  we  confine  our  super- 
intendence to  reproving  them  when  it  is  ill  done  ? 
Before  we  accuse  them  of  want  of  neatness, 
have  we  furnished  them  with  facilities  for  being 
neat  ?  If  we  should  recommend  with  voice  and 
water  and  towels  and  a  temperate  atmosphere 
daily  or  weekly  batlis  ;  if  we  should  notice  or  sug- 
gest a  becoming  arrangement  of  the  hair,  or  the 
improving  effect  of  a  collar ;  if  we  should  advise 
in  the  choice  of  a  dress  ;  in  short,  if  we  should 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  341 

feel  and  show  an  interest  in  them  as  belonging  to 
the  same  great  family,  I  think  we  should  be  repaid 
a  hundred  fold. 

The  subject  is  one  of  greater  importance  than 
we  are  apt  to  suppose.  The  Irish  form  no  incon- 
siderable part  of  our  population,  and  a  very  large 
majority  of  the  house-servants  of  New  England 
belong  to  this  soundly-abused  class.  They  are 
in  our  families,  mingling  more  or  less  with  our 
children.  They  have  a  mighty,  though  indirect 
and  silent  power.  If  we  do  not  influence  them 
for  good,  they  will  surely  influence  us  for  evil. 
Surely  they  can  be  made  a  blessing  both  to  us 
and  to  themselves.  That  they  are  here  in  such 
numbers,  is  a  fact  not  without  significance.  They 
have  an  open-heartedness  which  is  fascinating,  — 
strong  affections  which  are  proof  against  neglect 
and  abuse,  —  vivacity,  versatility,  sprightliness, 
wit,  humor,  and  a  certain  eloquence,  a  graphic 
power  of  language,  which  goes  down  to  the  depth 
of  our  hearts,  bringing  up  laughter  and  tears. 
They  are  capable  of  noble  deeds,  of  heroic  lives ; 
but  they  come  to  us  diamonds  in  the  rough,  with 
all  their  poverty,  ignorance,  and  superstition  cling- 
ing around  them.  Yet  the  Lord  will  surely  re- 
quire them  at  our  hand,  in  the  day  when  he  shall 
make  up  his  jewels. 

Therefore  should  our  lives  be  to  them  a  con- 
stant gospel.  Our  superior  education  and  refine- 
ment,  and,   more    than  all,   our  religion,  should 


342  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST, 

bring  forth  fruit  in  forbearance,  benevolence, 
kindness,  gentleness,  and  love. 

Considerateness  is  indispensable,  if  the  family 
wheels  are  to  go  smoothly.  Without  it  there 
will  be  constant  creaking.  Yet  a  man  will  work 
all  day,  and  come  home  and  give  all  his  money 
to  his  wife,  and  pride  himself  on  her  judgment 
in  using  it,  and  rejoice  in  her  handsome  dress 
and  comfortable  appointments,  who  will  yet  con- 
stantly annoy  her  by  leaving  a  door  open.  A 
woman  will  devote  herself  to  her  husband  with 
unwearied  self-sacrifice  in  the  way  of  consulting 
his  tastes,  keeping  his  clothes  in  order,  tending 
him  when  he  is  sick,  with  a  great  deal  more  than 
the  assiduity  of  a  slave,  and  yet  spoil  everything, 
and  throw  him  into  a  periodic  fever,  by  having 
dinner  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  late.  It  is  on  tli£se 
little  things  that  happiness  hinges.  Very  few 
women  run  away  from  their  husbands  ;  very  fcAV 
men  poison  their  wives,  —  few,  that  is,  compared 
with  those  that  do  not,  though  a  good  many  have 
been  trying  their  hand  at  it  in  these  latter  days. 
•It  is  the  little  foxes  that  get  together  and  gnaw 
and  gnaw  till  the  beautiful  vine  that  went  up  sd 
bravely  to  meet  the  sun  lies  an  unsightly  wreck. 
Even  one  little  fox  can  do  a  great  deal  of  mischief, 
if  he  only  keeps  at  it. 

When  a  man  and  woman  dwell  in  the  same 
house,  are  called  by  the  same  name,  and  have 
the  same  interests,  they  seem  to  think  that  the 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  343 

laws  of  nature  come  to  an  end.  Causes  no  longer 
produce  effects,  nor  do  effects  flow  from  causes. 
Water  will  run  up-hill,  and  chimneys  will  not 
smoke,  though  the  flues  be  deranged,  and  corn 
will  grow  without  being  planted.  They  are  no 
longer  acquaintances  and  friends  and  human  be- 
ings, with  tastes  that  can  be  offended,  and  feelings 
that  can  be  outraged,  and  sensitiveness  that  must 
be  respected,  and  whims  that  are  to  be  managed. 
They  are  a  moral  anomaly.  They  are  lovers, 
and  love  is  a  self-made  and  self-perpetuating  affair, 
with  which  they  have  nothing  to  do  except  to 
draw  on  it  for  every  occasion.  So,  while  the  nov- 
elty lasts,  and  their  oneness  is  something  pretty 
to  look  at,  and  delightful  to  think  of,  and  inex- 
pressibly sweet  in  its  freshness,  tliey  are  thoughtful 
and  polite  ;  but  when  that  is  well  over,  and  the 
real  wear  and  tear  comes,  and  they  need  all  the 
love  they  can  possibly  marshal  to  keep  life  fi'om 
degenerating  into  "What  shall  we  eat,  what  shall 
we  drink,  and  wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed  ?  " 
then  they  become  careless  about  the  small,  sweet 
courtesies,  let  all  the  little  pores  through  which 
love  should  filter  be  stopped  up,  and,  passing 
through  the  valley  of  Baca,  there  are  no  wells. 

It  has  sometimes  seemed  to  me  that,  after  all, 
there  is  not  very  much  love  between  husbands  and 
wives.  I  suppose  that  remark  will  be  received 
with  a  howl  of  execration,  and  I  hurry  to  compro- 
mise and  conciliate  by  saying  that  undoubtedly 


344  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

there  is  a  great  deal,  only  it  lies  below  the  surface. 
I  am  quite  sure,  however,  that  if  men  and  women 
showed  to  each  other  no  more  attention  and  ten- 
derness and  interest  before  marriage  than  some 
of  them  do  after,  they  would  not  have  been  mar- 
ried at  all.  Before  marriage,  it  would  be  cold- 
ness, and  would  result  in  separation  ;  afterwards, 
it  is  dormant  love,  and  all  right.  Man  is  not, 
however,  generally  supposed  to  be  a  hibernating 
animal,  and  the  ingenuous  mind  detects  an  incon- 
sistency. As  his  hunger  and  thirst,  his  relish  for 
books  and  business  and  society  and  honors  and 
money,  remain  in  active  operation,  it  is  difficult  to 
see  why  his  love  should  go  into  winter-quarters. 

Women  are  less  at  fault  in  this  matter  than  men. 
Their  love  does  not  generally  become  torpid  so 
soon  as  that  of  men,  and  when  it  does,  it  is  more 
easily  awakened.  This  is  attributable  partly  to 
nature,  and  partly  to  circumstance,  as  well  as  to 
some  other  things.  Men  are  more  selfish  than 
women.  The  sphere  in  which  they  move  has  a 
tendency  to  make  them  so.  The  woman  forgets 
herself  in  the  little  lives  around  her.  She  is  occu- 
pied with  the  care  of  those  who,  but  for  her  care, 
would  die.  She  is  in  the  midst  of  ignorant,  inno- 
cent, unthinking  little  souls,  who  take  no  thought 
not  only  for  the  morrow,  but  for  the  to-day.  They 
know  nothing,  and  care  nothing,  about  their  own 
welfare  ;  and  the  mother's  heart  embraces  them 
all,  and  lives  in  them  all.     The  man  is  surrounded 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  345 

by  men,  strong,  active,  eager,  keen,  —  all  looking 
out  for  Number  One.  He  must  look  out  for 
Number  One  also,  or  Number  One  will  not  be 
looked  out  for.  Other  people  have  their  hands 
full  with  their  own  interests.  So  he  contracts  a 
habit  of  making  self  prominent.  It  is  true  that 
wife  and  children  are  comprised  in  that  self,  but 
often  in  a  latent  way.  If  misfortune  or  disgrace 
meet  him,  the  thought  of  wife  and  child  makes 
it  tenfold  bitter;  but  ordinarily,  as  he  occupies 
himself  with  his  business  from  day  to  day,  these 
home  thoughts  do  not  suggest  themselves.  He 
would  probably  be  just  as  diligent  in  business,  just 
as  anxious  to  succeed,  even  if  there  were  no  home 
circle  dependent  on  him. 

Therefore,  when  he  comes  home  at  night,  the 
day's  habit  comes  with  him.  He  will  be  likely  to 
forget  the  changed  atmosphere,  and  will  go  on 
looking  out  for  the  comfort,  as  he  has  been  all  day 
looking  out  for  the  interest,  of  Number  One.  If 
he  remembers  the  change,  he  will  remember  it  in 
the  way  of  reflecting  that  he  has  been  hard  at 
work  all  day  for  his  family,  and  now  he  wishes  to 
be  waited  upon  and  to  take  his  ease.  He  expects 
to  be  harried  in  his  business,  and  lays  out  for  it ; 
but  when  he  gets  home,  he  desires  peace  and 
quiet,  and  to  have  everything  suit  him.  He  con- 
siders himself  the  Sir  Oracle  of  the  concern,  and 
when  he  opes  his  mouth,  he  does  not  want  any 
little,  dogs  to  bark  in  opposition. 

15* 


348  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

This  is  the  way  he  has  a  tendency  to  look  at  it, 
nor  does  it  necessarily  imply  that  he  is  totally  de- 
praved ;  yet  there  is  another  side. 

In  point  of  real  trial  to  temper,  nerves,  and 
patience,  there  is  no  comparison  to  be  made  be- 
tween a  woman's  duties  and  a  man's.  As  I  sit,  I 
hear  the  click  of  a  shoemaker's  hammer.  From 
morninsc  till  nicrht  it  seems  never  at  rest.  The 
shoemaker  leads  a  laborious  life,  but  how  steadfast 
and  calm !  He  drives  the  peg,  and  he  knows  it 
will  go  in.  He  made  so  many  shoes  yesterday,  he 
will  make  so  many  to-day.  At  just  such  a  time 
he  will  go  home  to  dinner,  with  just  such  an  amount 
of  work  accomplished.  But  his  wife,  busy  in  her 
kitchen,  has  a  baby  who  is  governed  by  no  laws, 
and  upsets  all  her  calculations.  If  he  sleeps 
through  the  morning,  she  will  spring  through  her 
washing  and  ironing  and  boiling  and  baking ;  but 
if  he  awakes,  as  he  probably  will  at  the  most  crit- 
ical moment,  everything  has  to  give  way.  It  is  of 
no  use  to  plan,  for  a  chubby  fist  knocks  down  all 
her  arrangements.  Her  baby  is  the  most  despotic 
of' all  tyrants  ;  he  has  not  the  slightest -regard  for 
public  opinion.  It  is  of  no  manner  of  importance 
to  him  whether  the  fire  goes  out,  and  the  room 
is  swept,  or  not.  If  he  wishes  to  be  rocked, 
he  must  be,  regardless  of  consequences.  Then 
very  likely  there  are  three  or  four  more  little  ones 
who  must  be  washed  and  dressed  and  fed,  besides 
having  dress  and  food  prepared  for  them.     If  they 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  347 

are  all  in  the  soundest  health,  they  need  constant 
watchfulness ;  for  children  are  unlike  pegs.  They 
will  not  go  where  they  belong.  They  are  constant- 
ly making  little  lunges  right  and  left,  and  getting 
into  mischief.  Pluck  them  out  of  the  sugar-firkin, 
and  they  tumble  straightway  into  the  molasses-jug. 
If  there  is  a  cistern  on  the  premises,  they  will  be 
sure  to  plunge  in  sooner  or  later  ;  and  if  there  is 
no  cistern,  it  shall  go  hard  but  they  will  find 
a  tub  of  water,  somewhere,  large  enough  to  sit 
down  in.  Scissors  and  knives  —  everything  that 
has  an  edge  to  it  —  draw  them  as  if  they  were 
made  of  steel.  A  perverse  prompting  moves  them 
to  pound  everything  that  can  be  hurt  by  pounding, 
and  scratch  and  cut  and  tear  according  to  the  re- 
spective sensibilities  of  the  object.  So  it  goes, 
even  when  they  are  well ;  but  when,  besides  this, 
we  think  of  the  great  army  of  measles,  and  scarlet- 
fever,  and  chicken-pox,  and  mumps,  and  colic,  and 
cholera  infantum,  and  inoculation,  and  teething, 
that  lie  in  wait  for  the  young  immortal  and  his 
mother,  the  prospect  is  appalling;  for  the  brunt 
of  it  all  comes  on  the  mother.  What  is  true  of  the 
shoemaker  and  his  wife  is  true  of  the  blacksmith 
and  his  wife,  and  the  tailor  and  his  wife.  I  know 
that  there  are  occupations  which  are  more  complex, 
and  demand  the  exercise  of  all  the  powers.  But 
the  merchant  and  the  lawyer,  however  absorbing 
and  perplexing  may  be  their  avocations,  have  to 
do'with  grown-up  people.     The  merchant's  clerks 


348  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

are  often  quite  as  gentlemanlike  and  well  educated 
as  himself.  His  brother  merchants  are  acute  and 
self-involved,  but  reasonable.  The  lawyer's  client 
may  be  ignorant  and  stubborn,  but  he  is  an  ac- 
countable being,  and  swayed  by  a  homely,  but 
powerful  logic  ;  but  the  wife  is  the  mistress  of  ser- 
vants inexperienced,  even  when  well  disposed,  and 
the  mother  of  terrible  infants.  Let  a  man  try 
to  work  with  such  tools,  and  such  encumbrances, 
and  see  how  he  succeeds. 

It  is  true  that  a  man's  responsibilities  are,  in  one 
sense,  greater.  If  he  makes  a  misstep,  he  brings 
down  with  him  partner,  clerks,  wife,  and  children, 
sometimes  shaking  even  church  and  society;  while 
the  woman  may  let  this,  that,  and  the  other  duty 
slip,  and  the  sky  does  not  fall.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  the  greatness  of  the  matter  at  stake 
which  supports  the  man,  and  its  littleness  that 
disheartens  the  woman.     She  has  the  same  round 

—  perpetually  changing,  yet  perpetually  the  same 

—  of  little  cares  and  duties,  which  cannot  be  dis- 
pensed with,  yet  which  never  seem  to  amount  to 
anything.  It  is  all  very  well  to  cajole  her  with 
"  fashioning  the  young  mind,"  and  "  training  the 
hand  that  is  to  guide  the  world,"  and  "  modelling 
the  greatness  of  the  next  age,"  but  it  is  a  long 
way  to  the  next  age,  and  when  the  future  states- 
man comes  crying  to  his  mother  with  Spalding's 
Prepared  Glue  cleaving  to  his  face  and  hair  and 
clean  apron,  and  his  fingers  bleeding  from  the  cuts 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  349 

of  the  broken  bottle,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  that 

"  The  spirit  that  there  lies  sleeping  novr 
May  rise  like  a  giant,  and  make  men  bow, 
As  to  one  heaven-chosen  amongst  his  peers." 

How,  then,  can  a  man  who  professes  to  be  a 
Christian  come  home  from  his  office,  or  shop,  or 
field,  to  his  nervous,  hurried,  anxious,  care-worn 
wife,  and  harshly  or  coldly  ask  why  dinner  is  n't 
ready,  or  what  in  the  world  she  lets  those  children 
make  such  a  noise  for  ?  Women  are  often  exhort- 
ed to  meet  their  husbands  with  a  smile  ;  but  what 
manner  of  value  has  a  smile  on  the  lips,  if  there 
be  not  a  smile  at  the  heart ;  and  what  manner  of 
man  is  he  who  wishes  his  wife  to  crush  back  all 
her  tears  into  her  own  bosom,  and  put  on  a  mask 
for  him?  Is  marriage  to  be  a  keeping  up  of  ap- 
pearances ?  Can  love  be  retained  only  by  a  mas- 
querade ?  Is  a  husband  something  that  must  be 
daintily  fed,  and  gingerly  managed,  from  whom 
the  thorns  must  be  hidden,  and  for  whom  the  roses 
must  blow,  and,  if  they  will  not  blow,  wax  flowers 
must  be  manufactured  ?  Surely  not.  At  the  ba- 
sis of  true  marriage  is  truth.  It  is  life,  and  not 
dilettanteism,  that  glows  on  the  household  hearth. 
If  a  man  has  manhood,  he  wants  his  wife  just  as 
she  is,  —  whims,  sorrows,  vexations,  and  all.  He 
does  not  want  to  be  deceived  by  a  papier-mache 
image,  gotten  up  for  the  occasion.  If  things  have 
gone  smoothly,  and  she  meets  him  with  a  smile,  it 
is  very  charming.     But  if  Johnny  is   threatened 


350  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

with  croup,  and  the  baby  is  cross,  and  Bridget  has 
given  notice  of  leaving  next  day,  he  is  not  selfish 
enough  to  expect  her  to  forget  all  this,  or  to  wish 
her  to  gloss  it  over  and  deceive  him  by  pretending 
to  be  happy  when  she  is  not.  There  are  many 
times  when  it  will  be  better  for  him,  and  better  for 
her,  that  he  should  open  his  arms  and  let  her  have 
"  a  good  cry,"  and  even  if  he  is  a  little  sentimental 
and  babyish,  it  will  not  cause  any  permanent  harm. 
This  will  soothe  and  calm  her  irritated  nerves,  and 
they  will  talk  it  over,  and  so  love  will  bridge  the 
chasm,  and  tunnel  the  mountain,  and  chain  the 
lions  ;  for  the  heart  that  loveth  is  not  only  willing, 
but  able.  And  the  wifely  tenderness  will  be  made 
so  strong  and  grateful,  that  when  the  husband 
comes  home  next  day,  in  his  turn  irritated,  de- 
pressed, and  savage,  as  "real  good"  husbands  can 
be,  she  will  not  heed  his  moodiness  and  surliness, 
but  will  knead  him,  and  mould  him,  and  make  him 
over,  so  deftly  that  he  will  not  know  he  has  been 
touched,  till  he  finds  himself  sitting  clothed  and 
in  his  right  mind. 

Waiting  in  a  milliner's  shop  the  other  day,  I  no- 
ticed a  nice  little  woman  standing  before  one  of 
the  counters,  and  a  nice  little  baby,  two  or  three 
years  old,  perched  upon  it  in  front.  The  eager 
mother  was  trying  on,  first  one,  and  then  another, 
of  the  little  pink  and  blue  and  white  marvels  of 
hats,  unable  to  decide  which  set  off  her  darling's 
blue  eyes  and  fat  cheeks  best.     It  was  a  very  pret- 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  351 

ty  sight.  Her  whole  heart  was  in  the  work  just 
as  much  as  General  Scott's  is  in  his,  and  the  air 
with  which  she  would  pick  out  the  broad  bows, 
and  give  the  hat  a  little  pull  and  knock,  and  then 
stand  off  to  get  the  effect,  bespoke  an  indescribable 
self-satisfaction,  or  rather  baby-satisfaction,  —  and 
there,  through  all  the  pretty  panorama  of  motherly 
love  of  baby,  and  womanly  love  of  bonnets,  stood 
her  tall  husband,  looking  as  cross  as  could  be. 
Presently  she  held  up  one  of  the  hats  before  him, 
and  said,  half  deprecatingly,  ''  It  's  three  and  a 
half!"  And  the  moody  fellow  only  answered, 
"  Get  what  vou  're  a  mind  to,  Z  don't  care !  "  and 
put  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  and  sauntered  to  the 
door. 

If  that  man  a  year  or  two  before  his  marriage 
had  been  allowed  to  go  into  the  same  shop  with 
that  woman,  how  different  would  have  been  his 
demeanor  !  How  ignorantly  interested  he  would 
have  been  in  every  detail,  how  sweetly  silly  in  his 
suggestions,  how  slavishly  acquiescent  in  hers  I 
*'  I  don't  care,"  indeed  !  A  refusal  graciously 
and  Christianly  given  might  have  carried  more 
happiness  than  this  surly  permission. 

A  short  time  after,  I  happened  to  hear  another 
of  the  exemplary  little  wives  with  whom  the 
country  is  full  say  to  her  husband,  "  Charley,  had 
I  better  wear  my  rubbers  ?  "  And  the  man  had 
the  depravity  to  look  up  from  his  newspaper  and 
growl,  ''  You  know  what  the  weather  is,  and  you 


352  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

know  what  kind  of  shoes  you  Ve  got.  What  is 
the  use  of  asking  me  ?  "  But  such  a  question  be- 
fore marriage  would  not  have  been  referred  back 
in  that  way.  It  is  reasonable  to  conjecture  that 
his  reply  would  have  expressed  some  fond,  but  en- 
tirely unnecessary  alarm,  supplemented  by  his  own 
drawing  on  of  the  rubbers  with  a  half  playful, 
half  tender  remark  about  "  the  little  feet,"  —  if 
he  did  not  descend  into  the  lower  depth  of  "  foot- 
sey  tootsey."  I  remember  the  dark  eyes,  the 
shining,  abundant  curls,  the  pure  complexion,  the 
graceful  figure,  the  sprightly  fancy,  the  vivacity 
and  wit  and  kindness  and  generosity,  —  the  count- 
less charms  and  virtues  of  a  brilliant  and  beautiful 
girl.  She  married  a  man  of  ability,  education, 
wealth,  and  position.  Shortly  after  her  marriage, 
—  only  a  little  while,  —  a  time  that  could  scarcely 
be  measured  by  years,  —  a  gentleman  who  had 
known  her  in  her  glad  maidenhood  visited  her  ; 
and  as  he  came  out  from  the  stately  house,  with  all 
its  luxurious  appurtenances,  he  sighed  gloomily^ to 
himself : 

"  They  've  made  her  a  grave  too  cold  and  damp 
For  a  soul  so  vparm  and  true." 

It  is  not  poverty,  or  riches,  or  ease,  or  hardship, 
or  health,  or  sickness,  that  makes  women  sad  or 
glad. 

It  is  neither  desirable  nor  difficult  to  multiply 
examples.  I  only  mention  these  because  they  are 
additional  illustrations   of  the  statement  that  men, 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  B53 

a  very  large  proportion  of  men,  are  much  less  care- 
ful to  please  their  wives  than  they  were  to  please 
their  sweethearts  ;  and  also  because  I  have  one 
more  remark  to  make  on  the  same  subject.  The 
remark  is  exclusively  for  men.  No  woman  need 
read  this  article  any  further.  If  men  are  not 
guilty,  what  I  shall  say  will  do  them  no  hurt.  If 
they  are  guilty,  I  do  not  suppose  it  will  do  them 
much  good  ;  but  there  are  some  things  that  will 
not  rest  till  they  are  said. 

The  remark  is  this  :  Leaving  out  of  view  all 
question  of  religion,  or  chivalry,  or  decency,  and 
looking  from  the  lowest  stand-point,  it  remains  a 
fact  that  love,  as  well  as  honesty,  is  the  best  pol- 
icy. If  men  were  wise,  they  would  see  that 
the  surest  way  to  gain  even  their  selfish  ends  is 
kindness.  If  a  man's  object  is  his  own,  and  not 
his  wife's  happiness,  the  best  way  to  get  it  is  to  do 
just  what  he  would  do  if  his  wife's  happiness  were 
the  object.  In  this  case,  as  in  many,  perhaps  in 
all  others,  utter  selfishness  and  utter  benevolence 
are  at  one  in  the  means  they  employ.  That  is, 
the  thing  which  will  do  the  most  good,  on  the 
whole,  to  others,  will  do  the  most  good  to  one's 
self.  A  wife  will  keep  her  husband's  house,  and 
train  his  children,  if  he  is  indifferent,  or  thoufiht- 
less,  or  unkind  ;  she  will  perhaps  love  him  too, 
for  women  have  a  way  of  worshipping  the  temple 
where  their  idol  dwelt,  long  after  the  idol  has 
fallen,    face    downward,  on    the    threshold,  —  an 


354  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

unfortunate  habit,  I  cannot  help  thinking,  for  if  a 
man  feels  that  his  wife  will  love  him  whether  or 
no,  he  will  naturally  be  less  careful  to  make  him- 
self lovely.  If  he  could  be  brought  to  under- 
stand that  his  wife's  affection  depends  upon  his 
behavior,  and  that,  when  he  falls  away  from  grace, 
she  will  fall  away  from  love,  he  would  take  more 
pains  to  be  agreeable.  But,  as  I  was  saying, 
such  love  and  service  are  not  the  love  and  ser- 
vice which  love  and  consideration  will  bring  out. 
Do  not  men  know  that  to  a  woman  love  is  a 
despot  ?  For  her  love's  sake  there  are  no  paths 
so  crooked  that  she  will  not  make  them  straight, 
—  no  places  so  rough  that  she  will  not  make  them 
plain,  —  no  heights  she  will  not  level,  no  tides  she 
will  not  stem,  no  perils  she  will  not  brave.  In 
her  love  she  is  strong,  wise,  brave,  patient,  untir- 
ing, ingenious,  —  I  had  almost  said,  invincible. 
Nor  are  women,  as  a  general  thing,  exacting. 
They  do  not  demand  constant  or  foolish  petting. 
Only  let  a  woman  be  sure  that  she  is  precious  to 
her  husband,  —  not  useful,  not  valuable,  not  con- 
venient simply,  but  lovely  and  beloved  ;  let  her  be 
the  recipient  of  his  polite  and  hearty  attentions ; 
let  her  feel  that  her  care  and  love  are  noticed  and 
appreciated  and  returned  ;  let  her  opinion  be 
asked,  her  approval  sought,  and  her  judgment  re- 
spected in  matters  of  which  she  is  cognizant ;  in 
short,  let  her  only  be  loved,  honored,  and  cher- 
ished, in  fulfilment  of  the  marriage  vow,  and  she 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  355 

will  be  to  her  husband  and  her  children  and  to 
society  a  well-spring  of  pleasure.  She  will  bear 
pain  and  toil  and  anxiety,  for  her  husband's  love 
is  to  her  a  tower  and  a  fortress.  Shielded  and 
sheltered  therein,  adversity  will  have  lost  its  sting. 
She  may  suffer,  but  sympathy  will  dull  the  edge 
of  her  sorrow.  A  house  with  love  in  it  —  and  by 
love  I  mean  love  expressed  in  words  and  looks  and 
deeds,  for  I  have  not  one  spark  of  faith  in  the  love 
that  never  crops  out  —  is  to  a  house  without  love 
as  a  person  to  a  machine.  The  one  is  life,  the 
other  is  mechanism.  The  unloved  woman  may 
have  bread  just  as  light,  a  house  just  as  tidy,  as  the 
other,  but  the  latter  has  a  spring  about  her,  a  joy- 
ousness,  an  aggressive  and  penetrating  and  pervad- 
ing brightness,  to  which  the  former  is  a  stranger. 
The  deep  happiness  at  her  heart  shines  out  in  her 
face.  She  is  a  ray  of  sunlight  in  the  house.  She 
gleams  all  over  it.  It  is  airy  and  gay  and  graceful 
and  warm  and  welcoming  with  her  presence.  She 
is  full  of  devices  and  plots  and  sweet  surprises  for 
her  husband  and  her  family.  She  has  never  done 
with  the  romance  and  poetry  of  life.  She  is  her- 
self a  lyric  poem,  setting,  herself  to  all  pure  and 
gracious  melodies.  Humble  household  ways  and 
duties  have  for  her  a  golden  significance.  The 
prize  makes  the  calling  high,  and  the  end  dignifies 
the  mean^.  Her  home  is  a  paradise,  not*  sinless, 
nor  painless,  but  still  a  paradise  ;  for  "  love  is 
heaven,  and  heaven  is  love." 


356  THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST. 

Why  will  men  not  see  the  priceless  jewel  that 
can  be  their  sure  possessing  ?  How  can  a  man  be 
willing  to  bind  to  himself  a  body  of  death,  —  to 
walk  through  the  dreary  years  with  a  heavy- 
hearted,  duty-bound,  care-burdened,  disappointed 
woman,  to  whom  life  has  become  a  monotonous 
round  of  uninteresting  necessities,  when,  by  a  time- 
ly thoughtfulness,  a  little  attention,  a  little  love 
lovingly  expressed,  he  might  secure  the  constant, 
healing,  beautiful  ministrations  of 

"  a  spirit, bright 

With  something  of  an  angel  light  "  ? 

It  is  madness  to  let  slip  away  a  love  so  rich  in 
blessing,  so  easily  retained,  so  capable  of  bound- 
less broadening  and  deepening  and  strengthen- 
ing, —  yet  men  continually  do  it.  Reaching 
out  after  wealth,  they  grasp  pebbles,  and  trample 
under  their  feet  the  "  mountain  of  light."  Look- 
ing for  ease,  they  push  aside  the  downy  couch,  and 
lay  their  cheeks  upon  a  pillow  set  with  thorns. 
Unutterably  blind,  they  will  not  see  the  angel  that 
folds  its  white  wings  by  their  fireside,  and  with  in- 
sane presumption  they  brush  roughly  against  their 
heavenly  visitant,  or  with  equally  insane  indiffer- 
ence turn  coldly  away  from  it,  till  the  pure  robes  are 
defiled,  the  white  wings  droop,  and  the  sad  angel 
fades  away  forever.  O  the  phantoms  of  dead  joys 
that  flit'  through  unhaunted  houses  !  O  the  hopes 
that  lie  buried  under  still  lighted  hearthstones !  O 
the  murdered  possibilities  strewn  thick  along  the 


THE  LAW  OF  CHRIST.  357 

ways,  over  the  lowlands  and  the  uplands  of  life,  — 
stark  corses  to  which  no  Messiah  shall  ever  say, 
"  Arise  !  "  Through  all  the  land  you  shall  scarce- 
ly find  a  house  in  which  there  is  not  one  dead. 
There  is  no  speech  nor  language  ;  their  voice  is 
not  heard  ;  but  the  shore  is  sorrowful  with  the 
wreck  of  brave  barques ;  the  sea  is  dark  with 
ships  that  started  proudly,  —  every  banner  stream- 
ing from  the  mast-head,  every  sail  spread  to  catch 
the  smallest  gale,  —  but  that  lie  now  dismantled 
and  becalmed  in  the  dead  sea  of  Sargossa,  or  float 
listlessly  down  the  unreckoning  tide,  or  rush  wildly 
over  the  rocks  to  swift  destruction. 


XII. 

PRAYING. 

'RAYING  is  one  of  those  things  about 
which  it  seems  useless  to  argue.  Noth- 
ing is  easier  than  to  make  out  a  case 
against  its  necessity,  or  benefit,  or  rea- 
sonableness. Any  one  can  say  that,  if  God  indeed 
arranged  matters  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  he  will  not  be  turned  aside  by  the  wishes 
of  people  who  very  often  do  not  know  what 
it  is  that  they  wish,  and  who  consequently  make 
the  most  unreasonable  requests ;  and  any  one  can 
answer  back,  that  in  this  original  arrangement 
allowance  might  have  been  made  for  praying, 
—  that  our  prayers  may  be  as  truly  a  part  of 
the  gearing  of  the  universe  as  events,  and  that 
consequently,  so  far  from  being  useless,  they  are 
essential.  But  this  is  not  the  strong  point.  It  is 
enough  to  say,  and  to  know,  that  God  has  com- 
manded it.  Though  we  should  see  no  resulting 
good,  we  should  submit  to,  and  have  faith  in,  a 


PRAYING.  359 

"  Thus  saith  tlie  Lord."  Furthermore,  we  all, 
whether  we  do  or  do  not  believe  that  prayer  ef- 
fects any  outward  results,  do  implicitly  believe 
that  its  reflex  influence  is  beneficial.  We  know 
that  the  state  of  mind  and  heart  which  sincere 
prayer  produces,  is  favorable  to  love  and  hope 
and  faith  and  humility  and  benevolence,  and  all 
virtue.  It  cannot  be  supposed  that  God  would 
lure  us  to  prayer  by  false  pretences,  —  hold  out 
answer  to  prayer  as  the  main  inducement  to 
prayer,  —  while  in  fact  the  prayer  has  no  bear- 
ing whatever  on  the  object  prayed  for;  that  we 
should  have  it  or  not,  just  the  same,  whether  we 
did  or  did  not  pray  for  it,  and  although  we  do 
derive  benefit  from  it,  it  is  an  entirely  different 
benefit  from  the  one  held  out  to  us.  The  idea  is 
monstrous.  It  is  an  insult  to  the  purity  and  in- 
tegrity of  the  Deity.  How  could  He  w^ho  forbids 
us  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come,  do  it  himself? 
Would  it  be  consonant  to  his  character  to  lead  us 
to  the  performance  of  a  duty  by  a  falsehood,  while 
the  truth,  if  known,  would  make  the  duty  absurd  ? 
If  any  one  thing  is  plainly  taught  in  the  Bible, 
it  is  that  prayer  will  be  answered.  Nor  is  the 
argument  less  strong,  even  if  we  reject  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Bible.  So  long  as  we  admit  that 
prayer  has  a  beneficent  reflex  influence,  we  are 
constrained  to  admit  that  human  nature  is  so  con- 
structed that  an  act  which  is  a  continual  and  stu- 
pendous absurdity  is  a  continual  and  stupendous 


360  PRAYING. 

refiner,  strengthener,  purifier,  —  which  is  of  itself 
as  great  an  absurdity,  to  say  the  least,  as  any  faith 
in  answer  to  prayer.  The  Bible  and  our  own 
inner  life  harmonize  in  inculcating  the  duty  of 
prayer. 

Secondly,  there  is  a  wide  diversity  of  opinion  as 
to  the  things  we  should  pray  for.  Many  think 
that  spiritual  good  is  the  only  legitimate  object  of 
prayer.  Others  admit  the  actual,  physical  needs 
of  life,  sustenance,  and  shelter,  but  are  rather 
shocked  at  the  idea  of  asking  for  pleasures,  or 
going  into  particulars  of  any  kind ;  but  neither  the 
precepts  nor  example  of  the  Bible,  nor  the  nature 
of  God  nor  of  prayer,  justify  this.  God  is  as  infi- 
nite in  small  matters  as  he  is  in  great.  It  is  a  false 
and  assumed  dignity  which  despises  the  little  things 
of  life.  True  dignity  can  be  sportive  without  be- 
ing frivolous.  We  think  the  sparrows  in  our  fields 
and  the  hairs  in  our  heads  to  be  very  small  mat- 
ters, quite  too  insignificant  to  occupy  the  time  and 
attention  of  Him  who  made  the  heavens  and  the 
earth ;  yet  He  numbers  the  one,  and  notices  the 
other,  nor  for  that  do  the  worlds  wheel  any  the 
less  grandly  down  their  appointed  paths,  nor  is  the 
music  of  the  spheres  jarred  by  one  clang  of  discord. 
In  a  deeper  and  truer  sense  than  the  old  Pagan 
knew,  God  in  a  thousand  ways  declares,  "  I  think 
nothing  human  to  be  foreign  to  me."  Therefore 
let  us  come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  that 
we  may  obtain  mercy  and  find  grace  to  help  in 


PRAYING.  361 

time  of  need,  —  whether  the  need  be  of  the  heart, 
or  head,  or  arm,  or  purse. 

Yet  I  have  observed  that,  v^^hen  we  pray  for  some 
special  temporal  object,  God  often  seems  to  answer 
the  prayer  in  the  letter,  but  not  in  the  spirit.  For 
instance,  you  pray  that  you  may  succeed  in  busi- 
ness and  amass  wealth,  and  you  do ;  but  your  heart 
becomes  hardened  thereby,  and  your  business  is  a 
millstone  about  your  neck.  You  have  set  your 
heart  on  your  boy's  getting  through  college  with 
the  highest  honors,  and  he  does,  but  broken  in 
health,  and  fit  only  for  an  untimely  grave.  You 
pray  for  strength  and  opportunity  to  accomplish 
a  certain  journey,  and  they  are  given  you,  but 
it  turns  out  that  tlie  journey  would  better  never 
have  been  made.  If  God  were  man,  we  should 
say  we  were  overreached.  He  keeps  his  word  in 
the  letter,  but  breaks  it  in  the  spirit.  We  wish  to 
make  the  journey,  but  it  is  for  a  certain  purpose. 
God  gives  us  the  journey  which  we  ask  for,  but  de- 
feats the  purpose  which  we  assume  that  he  knows. 
But  God  is  divinely  upright,  and  there  must  be 
something  behind  what  we  see.  J  infer  that  God, 
seeing  things  as  we  do  not  see  them,  answers  our 
prayers  sometimes  by  giving  us  not  what  we  ask 
for,  but  what  is  best  for  us,  —  which  we  all  admit 
is  a  complete  fulfilment  of  the  compact,  —  and 
sometimes  by  giving  us  the  very  things  we  ask  for, 
to  our  own  immediate  disadvantage  or  discomfit- 
ure, in  order  to  show  us  that  we  would  better  leave 

16 


362  PRAYING. 

these  things  to  him.  What  is  best  for  us  in  a  tem- 
poral point  of  view,  we  do  not  know,  and  therefore 
I  think  he  would  rather  have  us  lean  on  him,  and 
trust  in  him,  not  setting  our  hearts  on  this,  that, 
and  the  other  thing;  and  though,  in  our  weariness 
and  heaviness  and  heart-soreness,  he  is  not  dis- 
pleased that  we  cry  out  sorrowfully  to  him,  "  If  it 
be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me,"  yet  he  will 
fold  us  more  tenderly  in  the  arms  of  his  loving- 
kindness  if  we  meekly  add,  "  Nevertheless,  not 
as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt." 

Praying  is  a  duty,  because  God  has  commanded 
it.  More  than  this,  it  is  a  privilege,  because  God 
has  permitted  it.  Sometimes,  by  too  long  looking 
at  the  duty,  we  forget  the  privilege.  It  is  better 
to  do  a  rio;ht  thino;  because  we  are  forced  to  do  it, 
than  not  to  do  it  at  all ;  but  better  still  is  it  to  do 
it  because  we  like  it.  The  law  was  our  school- 
master, but  in  the  Gospel 

"  Joy  is  duty,  and  love  is  law." 

We  have  our  stated  seasons  for  prayer,  and  then 
we  stop.  Morning  and  evening  we  bow  the  knee 
before  God,  and  the  thing  is  done.  We  feel  happy 
because  our  duty  is  performed,  and  it  2S,  and  the 
resultant  happiness  is  natural  and  right.  But 
prayer  means  a  great  deal  more  than  this.  There 
are  no  set  hours  during  which  the  Lord  holds 
court,  and  hears  cases.  His  ear  is  always  atten- 
tive.    His  hand  is  ever  ready.     His  mercies  are 


PRAYING.  363 

not  only  new  every  morning  and  fresh  every 
evening,  but  noon  and  night  overflow  with  them. 
Hour  calls  unto  hour  to  bear  witness  to  the 
goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living ; 
and 

"  Hourly  as  new  mercies  fall, 
Let  hourly  thanks  arise." 

We  need  to  cultivate  a  praying  spirit.  We 
want  the  morning  orison  and  the  evening  thanks- 
giving, but  we  want  more.  The  communication 
between  heaven  and  earth  should  be  always  open. 
Prayer  should  be  a  state  as  well  as  an  act.  It 
should  be  natural,  spontaneous,  involuntary.  It 
should  be 

"  The  Christian's  vital  breath, 
The  Christian's  native  air." 

It  is  well  to  have  a  time  specially  appropriated  to 
prayer;  but  if  that  is  all,  the  supply  cannot  answer 
the  demand.  After  your  morning  prayer,  you 
feel  strengthened,  refreshed,  at  peace  Avith  God 
and  man,  —  ready  for  life's  work  ;  but  it  will  not 
last.  Virtue  cannot  be  bottled  up  and  kept  on 
hand  ready  for  future  emergencies.  The  fibre  lasts, 
but  the  pungency  disappears.  By  the  time  you 
want  to  use  it,  it  is  good  for  nothing.  Prayer  in 
the  morning  is  good  for  just  what  it  is  worth,  — 
that  is,  it  begins  the  day  Avell ;  but  it  needs  to  be 
continually  renewed.  You  pray  in  the  morning 
for  patience  to  meet  all  the  trials  of  the  day  ;  and 
the  little  bov  sucro-ested  to  his  flither  that  he  should 


364  PRAYING. 

save  time  by  saying  grace  over  the  pork-barrel. 
One  is  about  as  sensible  as  the  other,  —  both  good 
as  far  as  they  go,  but  God  gives  us  grace  by  piece- 
meal. He  enjoins  us  to  pray  without  ceasing. 
We  ought  to  be  in  so  constant  communication  with 
him,  that  whenever  a  slight  trial  comes,  whether 
of  faith,  or  patience,  or  love,  and  whenever  a  little 
blessing  flutters  its  white  wings  softly  over  our 
heads,  we  shall  immediately,  naturally,  without 
preamble,  or  circumlocution,  or  hesitation,  or  stop- 
page, lift  up  our  hearts  to  God.  Thus  only  can 
we  obtain  all  things  which  God  prepares  for  us. 
He  has  opened  for  us  the  fountain  of  the  water 
of  life.  If  we  draw  only  at  intervals,  even 
though  they  be  regular,  we  shall  often  walk 
athirst.  We  should  keep  the  little  rills  always 
trickling  thence  into  our  hearts,  that  so  there 
shall  be  in  us  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into 
everlastino;  life. 

God  might  have  made  us  differently,  but  he  did 
not.  He  might  have  made  our  bodies  so  that  one 
whiflp  of  fresh  air  in  the  bemnnino-  should  sustain  us 
through  life,  or  we  might  have  taken  oxygen  as 
we  do  food,  three  times  a  day ;  and  he  might  have 
formed  our  hearts  and  minds  so  that  a  daily,  or 
w^eekly,  or  yearly  recourse  to  him  should  be  all- 
sufficient  for  our  wants ;  but  he  chose  to  make  us 
so  that  we  need  to  lean  on  his  arm  continually, 
and  it  is  because,  when  we  go  out  into  the  fore- 
front of  the  battle,  where   we  most  need  it,  wo 


PRAYING.  365 

thrust  aside  that  sustaining  arm,  that  we  so  often 
faint  and  fall.  "After  my  prayers,  my  mind 
seems  touched  with  humility  and  love ;  but  the 
impression  decays  so  soon  !  "  said  one  of  the 
Church's  holy  ones.  One  should  form  the  habit 
of  prayer,  that  all  good  impressions  may  be  per- 
manent. 

I  see  in  sundry  religious  writings  a  kind  of  talk 
which  is  to  me  entirely  incomprehensible.  Good 
and  pious  men  lament  their  coldness  and  want  of 
interest  in  prayer, —  their  inability  to  commune 
with  God.  They  say  that  they  pray  with  their 
lips,  and  their  hearts  will  not  pray.  They  seek 
God  and  do  not  find  him.  They  have  no  sense 
of  his  presence.  They  call  themselves  dead,  and 
hard,  and  insensible,  and  their  praying  gives  them 
no  relief.  These  people,  too,  are  sometimes  the 
great  ones  of  the  earth,  giants  in  intellect,  saints 
of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy  ;  and  it  may 
seem  presumptuous  in  a  humbler  individual  to  sit 
in  judgment  upon  them.  Yet  a  healthy  infant  is 
as  good  a  judge  of  some  things  as  a  dyspeptic  phi- 
losopher, and  I  venture  to  say  that  this  state  of 
heart  and  mind  is  morbid.  I  do  not  believe  that 
a  healthy  mind  —  one  that  has  never  been  over- 
laid, or  undermined,  or  interjected  witli  cant  — 
one  that  has  been  left  to  its  own  natural  workings 
and  the  Spirit  of  God  —  one  that  has  drawn  its 
inspiration  and  instruction  from  the  Bible,  and  not 
from  the  traditions  of  men  —  would  ever  fall  into 


366  PRAYING. 

any  such  miserable  condition.  Just  apply  com- 
mon sense  to  it,  for  prayer  is  a  common-sense 
thing,  just  as  much  as  eating  and  drinking.  What 
is  prayer?  Request,  thanksgiving,  confession  of 
sins,  expression  of  repentance,  and  love  and  adora- 
tion of  God.  Is  prayer  anything  else  than  this  ? 
But  I  see  here  no  opportunity  for  coldness,  or 
deadness.  It  would  seem  to  be  the  very  simplest 
thino;  in  the  world.  You  have  done  somethino; 
wrong,  and  you  wish  you  had  not,  and  you  deter- 
mine to  do  so  no  more.  Why  not  go  to  God  and 
say  so  ?  You  have  had  a  pleasant  day ;  every- 
thing has  gone  well.  Why  not  thank  God  for  it, 
just  as  naturally  as  you  thank  the  friend  who 
sends  you  the  first  pansy  from  his  garden  ?  You 
see  the  young  Spring  standing  by  the  water- 
courses, and  breathing  over  the  meadows,  and 
your  soul  is  filled  with  admiration  of  God's  great- 
ness, and  love  of  his  goodness,  and  that  is  prayer. 
Where  are  the  deadness,  and  hardness,  and  insen- 
sibility', and  all  those  villanous  frames  of  mind  to 
come  in  ?  If  one  goes  to  God  in  a  straightforward 
wa}',  I  cannot  conceive  what  there  is  to  make  an 
ado  about.  God  has  emphatically  and  repeatedly 
declared  that  if  we  seek  him  he  will  be  found  of 
us,  and  I  beheve  it.  I  believe  it  just  as  he  said 
it,  —  without  quirk  or  quibble.  But  if  w^e  go 
seekino-  frames  of  mind  instead  of  him,  we  shall 
likely  enough  find  neither  what  we  seek  nor  what 
we  do  not.     "•  I  have  not  enjoyed  communion  wdth 


PRAYING.  367 

God,"  says  a  man  whose  memoir  has  perhaps 
been  more  extensively  circulated  than  any  other, 
"or  else  there  would  not  be  such  strangeness 
in  my  heart  towards  the  world  to  come."  But 
how  can  our  hearts  ever  be  anything  but  strange 
towards  the  world  to  come?  "We  have  never 
been  there.  We  never  saw  any  one  that  had 
been  there.  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
we  have  ever  been  in  a  world  very  much  like 
it.  God  has  told  us  very  little  about  it,  and  what 
he  has  told  us  only  makes  it  the  more  strange. 
He  has  expressly  tried  to  satisfy  us  for  our  slender 
knowledge,  by  promising  that  what  we  know  not 
now,  we  shall  know  hereafter.  Of  all  things  in 
the  universe  with  which  we  might  be  expected 
to  be  familiar,  the  next  world  is  the  last ;  and  here 
is  a  good  man  inferring  that  he  cannot  have  had 
communion  with  God,  because  his  heart  feels 
strange  towards  this  unseen  and  vaguely-described 
world. 

But  why  should  the  fact  of  our  communion 
with  God  depend  upon  any  such  inference,  or 
any  inference  at  all  ?  You  know  whether  you 
are  talking  with  your  friend  or  not.  You  do 
not  need  any  results  to  enlighten  you  as  to  the 
fact.  If  he  is  over  sea,  you  are  uncertain,  because 
he  may  be  beyond  your  reach.  Even  while  you 
are  writing,  he  "  may  sleep  full  many  a  fathom 
deep";  but  the  God  we  worship  in  very  deed 
dwells  ^^ith  men  forever.     He  is  not  talking,  or 


368  PRAYING. 

pursuing,  or  in  a  journey,  or  peradventure  sleep- 
eth  and  must  be  awaked,  before  he  can  bear 
us.  He  sees  us  while  we  are  yet  a  great  way 
off,  and  has  compassion  upon  us,  and  comes  out 
to  meet  us. 

It  is  true  that  we  do  not  always  feel  alike  about 
praying.  Sometimes  the  heart  overflows.  We 
see  in  some  special  way  how  God  has  crowned  our 
year  with  his  goodness,  and  made  our  paths  drop 
fatness ;  or  we  catch  a  sudden  glimpse  of  some 
hidden  sin,  and  are  appalled ;  or  we  covet  ear- 
nestly some  good  gift,  and  the  tongue  is  loosened. 
The  heart  burns  with  love,  and  the  eyes  grow  dim 
with  happy  tears.  The  soul  must  pour  itself  out 
before  God,  and  would  fain  dwell  in  his  presence 
forever.  At  other  times  we  are  not  moved  to 
special  emotion.  We  know  that  we  love  God, 
and  we  are  grateful  in  a  general  way,  but  we  have 
not  a  vivid  sense  of  anything  in  particular.  This 
may  be  the  result  of  sin,  but  not  necessarily. 
The  fondest  husband  in  the  world  is  not  always 
meditating  on  his  wife's  perfections,  nor  admiring 
her  gentle  grace.  He  is  away  from  her  a  great 
part  of  the  day.  He  is  not  thinking  of  her  all  the 
time  when  he  is  with  her,  and  when  he  is  think- 
ing of  her,  he  is  not  always  thinking  of  her  sweet 
eyes  and  her  dear  face  ;  but  he  loves  her  straight 
through,  and  she  knows  it,  and  is  content. 

It  is  evident  that,  when  this  is  the  case,  we  can- 
not pray  as  we  should  when  the  case  is  different. 


PRAYING.  369 

The  mouth  may  speak  abundantly  out  of  the 
abundance  of  the  lieart ;  but  when,  for  any  reason, 
it  is  weak,  languid,  or  listless,  the  mouth  should 
not  multiply  w^ords.  The  idea  that  a  prayer  must 
be  of  any  set  length  in  order  to  be  acceptable, 
is  preposterous.  Be  not  deceived.  God  is  not 
mocked.  Not  the  length,  but  the  depth,  of  a 
prayer  is  the  measure  of  its  efficacy.  Be  sincere. 
Be  in  earnest.  Be  natural  in  your  prayers  as  in 
your  life.  If  one  has  nothing  in  particular  to  say, 
it  is  not  necessary  to  wrap  himself  in  generalities, 
for  the  sake  of  filling  up  the  time.  God  wants 
no  such  lip-service.  Not  to  such  prayers  are  his 
eyes  open  and  his  ears  attent.  We  may  indeed 
continue  all  night  in  prayer  to  God,  and  his  ear 
does  not  wax  heavy.  But  if  our  burdened  hearts 
can  only  send  up  the  passionate  cry,  "  Lord,  have 
mercy  on  me  a  sinner  1  "  we  shall  go  down  to  our 
house  just  as  truly  justified,  nay,  if  we  do  but 
touch  the  hem  of  his  garment,  we  shall  be  made 
whole. 

I  once  read  of  a  young  negro's  being  overheard, 
at  his  private  devotions,  to  count  out  his  gratitude 
on  this  wise  :  "  O  Lord,  me  tank  de  for  food  and 
raiment,  for  victuals  and  clothing,  but  not  for  de 
shoe-buckles,  for  me  bought  dem  wid  me  own 
money."  Such  a  prayer  would  doubtless  be 
heard,  and  such  gratitude  accepted  by  the  Lord  ; 
for  the  one  was  earnest,  and  the  other  sincere. 
Though    the    premises    and    the    conclusion    may 

16*  .  X 


370  PRAYING. 

have  been  wrong,  the  reasoning  was  correct.  If 
the  Lord  really  did  not  help  him  to  the  shoe- 
buckles,  there  certainly  was  no  occasion  for 
thanks  in  that  direction  ;  and  in  this  one  respect 
his  prayer  furnishes  an  example  for  all.  It  was 
discriminating.  It  meant  something,  and  he 
knew  what.  There  was  no  vague,  indefinite 
thanksgiving  for  equally  vague  and  indefinite 
blessings ;  no  pro2:)er,  well-ordered  words,  that 
meant  everything  in  general  and  nothing  in  par- 
ticular. The  negro  boy  wished  to  have  a  distinct 
understanding  on  the  subject.  He  was  entirely 
willing  to  give  unto  God  the  things  that  were 
God's ;  but  he  wished  to  have  Caesar's  things 
rendered  unto  Caesar  quite  as  scrupulously,  nor 
did  his  justice  to  himself  in  the  least  imply  nig- 
gardhness  towards  God.  We  can  adopt  his  wis- 
dom without  adopting  his  theology. 

We  render  gratitude  to  God  for  his  mercies, 
which  are  "  new  every  morning,  and  fresh  every 
evening."  AVhen  we  enter  upon  the  duty  of 
thanksgiving,  we  thank  him  in  a  general  v/ay 
for  many  things.  If  pressed  to  make  out  a  list 
of  what  it  is  for  which  we  are  thankful,  we  might 
answer  glibly,  "  health  and  plenty,  peace  and 
prosperity."  But  do  we  know  what  these  are  ? 
Do  we  know  what  national  disease  and  famine 
and  war  and  adversity  are  ?  If  we  really  are 
grateful  to  God  for  health,  shall  we  turn  away 
from  his  temples,  and  immediately  proceed  to  de- 


PRAYING.  371 

stroy  it  by  over-work,  over-play,  over-eating,  or 
over-anxiety  ?  If  we  indeed  thank  him  for  plenty, 
shall  we  shut  our  hearts  to  the  cry  of  the  poor  and 
needy,  which  comes  to  us  from  near  and  far,  the 
cry  of  those  who  lack  bread  for  the  body  or  the 
soul  ?  Shall  we  show  how  highly  we  value  peace, 
by  sitting  at  ease  around  our  comfortable  fires, 
wdiile  the  right  struggles  without  in  the  grasp  of 
strong  and  vigilant  foes  ?  Shall  we  set  up  pros- 
perity to  be  our  god,  sacrificing  to  it  our  noblest 
principles,  our  sacred  honor  ?  Shall  we  not  rather 
invest  our  talents  ?  Shall  we  not  prove  our  wor- 
thiness to  receive  a  blessing  by  the  use  we  make, 
and  the  care  we  take,  of  those  already  given.  It 
is  the  good  and  faithful  servant,  who  has  been 
faithful  over  few  things,  that  shall  be  made  ruler 
over  many  things. 

In  our  enumeration  of  our  special  blessings,  the 
gleam  of  shoe-buckles  is  very  apt  to  discover  itself. 
Our  plenty  and  peace  and  prosperity  are  the 
result  of  our  own  industry  and  prudence  and 
wisdom.  It  is  our  own  hand  that  has  gotten  us 
the  victory.  We  attribute  some  remote  first  cause 
to  the  Lord,  but  we  take  the  lion's  share  of  the 
credit  to  ourselves.  We  look  abroad  upon  our 
vast  possessions,  the  mighty  fabric  of  empire 
which  has  sprung  up  in  a  night,  and  exultantly 
say,  —  "  Is  not  this  great  Babylon,  that  /  have 
built,  by  the  might  of  my  power,  and  for  the 
honor  of  my  majesty?''     But  whence  came   the 


372  PRAYING. 

skill  that  planned,  and  the  arm  that  wrought? 
Who  set  the  rock  in  its  place  ?  Who  formed 
the  mountains,  and  hollowed  out  the  sea  ?  Who 
sunk  the  iron  in  its  bed,  and  planted  the  forests 
where  they  grow  ?  Who  pierced  the  coasts,  and 
poured  the  rivers  from  his  hand?  Nay,  who 
keeps  the  air  in  perpetual  equipoise, — just  so 
much  of  this  ingredient,  just  so  much  of  that? 
A  little  less  density,  a  little  less  heat,  a  little 
less  moisture,  and  all  life  would  be  suddenly 
extinct. 

The  shoe-buckles  may  have  been  bought  with 
our  own  money,  but  the  coin  has  the  Divine 
image  and  superscription  ;  therefore  it  should  be 
rendered  unto  God  as  one  of  the  things  that  are 
his. 

In  praying  for  blessings,  our  innermost  sincerity 
should  be  tested.  We  pray  for  greater  light ;  do 
we  make  the  most  of  the  light  we  already  have  ? 
We  pray  for  opportunities  to  do  good ;  do  we 
improve  the  opportunities  that  constantly  present 
themselves  ?  We  pray  for  our  daily  bread  ;  are 
we  doing  our  utmost  to  earn  it  ?  We  pray  for 
peace  ;  do  we  follow  the  things  that  make  for 
peace  ?  We  pray  that  Christ's  kingdom  may 
come ;  are  we  straining  every  nerve  to  bring 
it  ?  What  folly  —  to  call  it  by  no  harsher  name 
—  is  it  to  implore  God  to  add  still  further  to  a 
blessing  of  which  we  already  possess  more  than 
we    use  !     To  ask  him  to  help  us   while  we  are 


'PRAYING.  373 

not  doing  all  we  can  to  help  ourselves !  To  ask 
him  to  allay  discords  which  we  are  careless  in 
fomenting  !  To  ask  him  to  purify  our  hearts,  and 
then  let  evil  spirits  come  in  and  riot  there  !  In 
short,  to  ask  him  to  do  the  work  which  belongs 
to  ourselves,  or  to  give  gifts  of  which  we  have 
already  sho^vn  ourselves  unappreciative  and  un- 
worthy ! 

No !  Let  us  not  on  the  one  side  weary  the  Lord 
with  our  words  ;  and  let  us  not  on  the  other  side 
dishonor  him  with  slavish  fear.  He  is  the  Lord 
God  strong  and  mighty ;  he  is  also  the  Lord 
God  merciful  and  gracious.  He  is  a  jealous 
God ;  but  he  is  our  dearest  friend.  Eye  hath 
not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man,  such  love  as  that  wherewith 
God  loves  us ;  and  he  behaves  towards  us  as  if 
he  loved  us.  He  not  only  once  sent  his  Son  to 
die  for  the  world  because  he  loved  it,  but  he  con- 
tinually watches  over  it  for  the  same  reason.  He 
wants  men  to  pray  to  him  because  he  loves  them. 
He  does  not  drag  them  by  violence  into  his  pres- 
ence, thrust  them  down  upon  their  knees,  com- 
mand them  to  pray,  to  feel,  to  adore,  to  have  such 
and  such  emotions  on  peril  of  his  wrath.  He  opens 
his^  arms  to  them.  "  Come,  my  children,  you  are 
weak  and  weary.  The  way  before  you  is  long. 
Come,  rest  with  me  awhile,  and  get  strength. 
Come  for  a  little  peace  and  patience  and  joy. 
I  have   enough  of  everything    you   need.     I  can 


S74  PRAYING. 

^ve  you  all  you  want.  '  Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest.' "  And  suppose  we  do  come  after  a 
hard  day's  work,  exhausted,  void  of  emotion,  al- 
most of  desire,  will  God  be  angry  if  we  only 
whisper  a  good-night  prayer  ?  Is  a  mother  an- 
gry with  her  baby  who  falls  asleep  in  her  arms 
in  the  middle  of  her  lullaby?  And  does  not 
God  who  made  us  know  our  frame,  and  remem- 
ber that  we  are  dust  ?  And  if  he  is  not  strict 
to  mark  our  iniquities,  wdll  he  be  strict  to  mark 
our  weaknesses  ?  Oh !  let  us  be  simple  and  sin- 
cere. Prayer  should  not  be  made  a  complicated, 
uncertain,  difficult,  and  elaborate  thing.  It  is  too 
precious,  too  delightful,  too  heart-healing,  to  be 
turned  into  a  bugbear. 

Old  or  young,  happy  or  wretched,  strong  or 
w^eak,  draw  nigh  unto  God,  and  he  will  draw  nigh 
unto  you.  Never  mind  good  people's  diaries. 
Come  boldly  unto  the  throne  of  grace,  and  find 
grace  to  help.  Hear  his  loving-kindness  :  "  Fear 
thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee ;  be  not  dismayed, 
for  I  am  thy  God :  I  will  strengthen  thee  ;  yea,  I 
will  help  thee.  And  the  Lord  thy  God  will  hold 
thy  right  hand,  saying  unto  thee.  Fear  not ;  I  will 
help  thee.  When  the  poor  and  needy  seek  water, 
and  there  is  none,  and  their  tongue  faileth  for 
thirst,  I  the  Lord  will  hear  them,  I  the  God  of 
Israel  wull  not  forsake  them." 


XIII. 


FORGIVENESS. 


HARLES    SUMNER,  a  man  who 

makes  the  name  of  Senator  Illustrious  ; 
who  has  been  truer  to  the  Republic 
than  she  has  been  to  herself,  inasmuch 
as,  while  she  has  sometimes  faltered  in  the  way, 
suffering  herself  to  be  overborne  by  wicked  coun- 
sels to  her  own  misdoing,  he  has  known  no  waver- 
ing in  his  allegiance,  but  has  always  been  "  true 
to  truth  and  brave  for  truth";  who,  free  from 
the  vulgar  ambition  of  place,  is  fired  with  the  no- 
ble ambition  of  power,  but  of  power  based  only  on 
what  is  excellent  in  himself,  and  bearing  only  on 
what  is  excellent  in  others  ;  who  has  approved  the 
majesty  of  right  as  well  as  the  calm  steadfastness 
of  genius,  by  returning,  after  years  of  enforced 
absence,  to  the  battle-ground,  and  taking  up  the 
sword  on  the  same  spot  where  rage  and  cowardice 
and  wounded  iniqiilty  had  wrested  it  from  his 
grasp  ;  who,   deserving  well   of  the   Republic  for 


376  FORGIVENESS. 

services  faithfully  rendered,  and  sufferings  heroi- 
cally borne,  deserves  not  less  for  this,  that  he  has 
brought  down  into  the  arena  of  politics  the  culture 
of  the  scholar,  tlie  courtesy  of  the  gentleman,  and 
the  catholicity  of  the  Christian,  demonstrating 
thereby  that  a  nation's  work  needs  not  to  be  done 
with  unwashen  hands,  but  that  the  most  devoted 
patriotism  may  consist  with  the  widest  learning, 
the  truest  refinement,  and  the  purest  morality,  — 
Charles  Sumner,  referring,  in  a  recent  speech  be- 
fore a  popular  assembly,  to  the  aggressions  of  the 
slave  power  upon  the  rights  of  man,  said  :  "  For- 
giving those  who  trespass  against  us,  I  know  not 
if  we  should  forgive  those  who  trespass  against 
others.  Forgiving  those  who  trespass  against  us, 
I  know  not  if  we  should  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  the  Republic.  Forgiving  those  who  tres- 
pass against  us,  I  know  not  if  we  should  forgive 
those  who  trespass  against  God." 

The  duty  of  forgiveness  is  inculcated  in  the 
Bible  with  no  more  distinctness  than  is  the  fact 
asserted  that  certain  conditions  must  precede  it. 
This  part  we  are  very  apt  to  forget  in  theory,  and 
though  it  will  hardly  be  conceded  that  men  in  gen- 
eral are  too  ready  to  forgive  injuries,  and  therefore 
need  to  have  the  conditions  clearly  defined,  yet  all 
theoretical  flaws  produce  more  or  less  mischief 
in  practice.  The  particular  harm  occasioned  by 
this  oversight  is,  that  a  certain  indiscriminate  and 
wholesale  forgiveness  is  enjoined,  against   which 


FORGIVENESS.  377 

liealtliy  minds  revolt ;  tlie  result  is  that  they,  with 
equal  indiscrimination,  reject  the  whole.  Conse- 
quently, to  many,  forgiveness  is  synonymous  with 
meanness  and  cowardice.  It  is  attributed  either 
to  a  want  of  spirit  enough  to  feel  an  insult,  or  of 
courage  enough  to  resent  it ;  undoubtedly,  a  good 
deal  of  w^hat  passes  for  forgiveness  and  amiability 
is  only  this  ;  but  this  is  not  forgiveness  any  more 
than  the  hide  of  the  rhinoceros,  or  the  horns  of  the 
deer,  are  forgiveness  ;  and  by  as  much  as  forgive- 
ness is  a  noble,  manly,  and  Christian  virtue,  by 
so  much  should  its  character  be  understood  and 
rescued  from  the  imputation  of  being  milk  and 
water. 

When  the  sun  goes  down  behind  the  hills  to- 
night, the  listening  ears  of  angels,  and  the  always 
open  ear  of  Christ,  w^ill  hear  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  sweet  child- voices  lisping,  "  Forgive  us 
our  trespasses,  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us,"  and  as  the  little  night-gowned  babies 
kneel  by  mothers'  knees,  and  rest  in  mothers' 
arms,  and  smile  in  happy  sleep,  it  will  seem  as  if 
no  being  ever  could  be  so  cruel  as  to  trespass 
against  their  innocence,  and  that  even  the  pure 
eye  of  the  Son  of  God,  looking  into  those  little 
hearts,  w^ill  scarcely  find  any  trespass  tliere  ;  but 
when  the  white-robed  cherubs  get  up  in  the  morn- 
ing, the  angelhood  ebbs,  and  humanity  sets  in 
strong.  They  are  no  longer  a  choir  of  shining 
ones,    but    a    troop    of    Johnnys    and    Susys    and 


378  FORGIVENESS. 

Franks,  who  do  not  like  to  be  washed,  and  see  no 
beauty  in  smooth  hair,  and  have  a  special  aversion 
to  old  frocks  when  new  ones  are  hanging  in  the 
closet,  and  a  special  knack  at  setting  each  other  by 
the  ears  whenever  opportunity  does  or  does  not 
offer.  Consequently,  the  differences  that  arise  are 
numberless,  and  armed  interference  on  the  part  of 
parents  becomes  a  continually  recurring  necessity. 
Here  the  matter  begins.  In  the  nursery  the  bat- 
tles of  life  are  fought,  the  perplexities  of  life  are 
encountered,  the  drama  of  life  is  enacted.  Here 
the  great  moral  principles  that  should  guide  and 
harmonize  life  are  brought  into  play  and  strength- 
ened for  future  use,  or  (alas  !  too  often)  stretched 
and  strained  and  ruined.  Here  the  theory  of  for- 
giveness in  all  its  ramifications  needs  to  be  thor- 
oughly understood  and  correctly  applied,  or  incal- 
culable confusion  will  arise  in  a  thousand  forming 
minds.  Mary  will  not  pull  Willie's  hair  if  her 
mother  bids  her  not,  though  it  seems  to  her  that 
{'t  would  be  no  more  than  strict  poetic  justice  in 
return  for  his  pulhng  hers  ;  nor  will  the  verse 
that  she  is  made  to  repeat  about  rendering  evil  for 
evil,  make  all  the  crooked  places  straight  before 
oer.  Harry  cannot  see  why  grown-up  men  put 
into  jail  those  who  rob  them  of  their  property, 
while  he  is  expected  to  forgive  and  forget  Bob's 
running  away  with  his  ball.  Nor  do  we,  his  father 
and  mother,  see  quite  clearly  through  the  whole 
subject  ourselves.     An  injury  has   been   done  or 


FORGIVENESS.  879 

attempted  against  us.  We  feel  that  we  must  for- 
give, because  it  is  right  and  Scriptural  and  Chris- 
tian to  do  so  :  yet  we  cannot  feel  towards  the 
offender  just  as  we  did  before,  because  it  is  not 
natural  or  possible  to  feel  so ;  and  we  compromise 
between  ought  and  zs,  and  say,  "  We  will  forgive, 
but  we  never  can  forget." 

But  look  into  this  matter  a  little.  We  want 
no  compromise  with  wrong  or  right.  If  anything 
is  right,  do  it  wholly,  —  if  wrong,  do  it  not  at  all. 
At  all  events  let  us  know  where  we  are.  If  it  is 
not  possible  to  forgive  and  forget,  it  is  not  our 
duty  to  do  it ;  for  God  never  did  and  never  will 
require  us  to  do  what  it  is  not  possible  for  us 
to  do.  Ability  is  the  limit  of  duty.  If  it  is  our 
duty  to  do  it,  we  can  do  it,  and  we  must  do  it, 
and  —  we  will  do  it ! 

The  New  Testament  draws  a  parallel  between 
man's  forgiveness  of  his  brother,  and  God's  for- 
giveness of  man.  If  ye  forgive  not  men  their 
trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive  your 
trespasses.  Even  as  Christ  forgave  you,  so  also 
do  ye.  There  must,  therefore,  be  a  similarity  be- 
tween the  two  acts.  How,  then,  does  God  forgive 
us  ?     The  Bible  furnishes  plenty  of  answers. 

"  If  my  people,  which  are  called  by  my  name, 
shall  humble  themselves,  and  pray,  and  seek  my 
face,  and  turn  from  their  wicked  ways  :  then  will 
I  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their  sin,  and 
will  heal  their  land." 


380  FORGIVENESS. 

"  It  may  be  that  the  house  of  Judah  will  hear 
all  the  evil  which  I  purpose  to  do  unto  them  ;  that 
they  may  return  every  man  from  his  evil  way ; 
that  I  may  forgive  their  iniquity  and  their  sin." 

"  Take  heed  to  yourselves.  If  thy  brother 
trespass  against  thee,  rebuke  him  ;  and  if  he  re- 
pent, forgive  him.  And  if  he  trespass  against  thee 
seven  times  in  a  day,  and  seven  times  a  day  turn 
again  to  thee,  saying,  I  repent ;  thou  shalt  forgive 
him." 

This  is  the  point :  repentance  must  precede  for- 
giveness. God  does  not  forgive  wicked  men  till 
they  humble  themselves,  and  seek  his  face,  and 
turn  from  their  wicked  ways  ;  and  we  may  be  sure 
he  does  not  require  us  to  do  differently,  for  his 
ways  are  equal.  He  does  not  even  leave  us  to 
infer  this.  He  says  directly,  "  If  thy  brother  tres- 
pass"—  what?  '-'- Rebuke  Jihn.''^  And  then  adds: 
"i/  he  repent,  forgive  him."  This  is  unneces- 
sary, if  we  are  to  forgive  him  whether  he  repent 
or  not.  If  a  man  wilfully  or  wantonly  injure  ns, 
by  word  or  deed,  in  mind,  body,  or  estate,  we  are 
in  no  wise  bound  to  treat  him,  or  to  feel  towards 
him,  as  we  should  if  he  had  not  injured  us.  We 
are  not  only  not  bound  to  do  so,  but  we  are  bound 
not  to  do  so.  It  is,  generally,  not  possible,  and  if 
it  were  possible,  it  is  not  desirable.  We  shame 
the  dignity  of  right,  when  we  allow  right  to  be 
sinned  against  with  impunity.  We  encourage 
evil-doing    when   we   receive    the    evil-doer   with 


FORGIVENESS.  381 

open  arms.  We  set  a  premium  on  slander  when 
we  welcome  the  slanderer  to  our  hearths  and 
hearts.  Until  he  repents  and  brings  forth  fruits 
of  confession  and  retraction,  meet  for  repentance, 
we  ought  to  stand  aloof  fi'om  him,  —  holding  our- 
selves too  high  and  pure  for  a  friendship  with 
anything  unclean.  Is  not  this  the  doctrine  of 
the  Bible? 

Here  comes  in  a  danger  on  the  other  side.  We 
are  to  stand  aloof,  but  for  the  right's  sake,  not  for 
the  sake  of  malice,  or  revenge,  or  pride.  We 
may  feel  and  say,  "  I  am  better  than  thou,"  but 
not  in  a  Pharisaical  spirit.  We  see  that  the  act  is 
mean,  and  we  despise  it,  and  we  cannot  help  re- 
joicing, and  it  is  right  that  we  should  rejoice,  in 
the  consciousness  that  we  are  above  doing  it ;  yet 
he  who  is  versed  in  the  lore  of  human  hearts  will 
hardly  indulge  greatly  in  such  self-gratulation. 
He  knows  how  often  freedom  from  special  sin  may 
be  owing  to  freedom  from  special  temptation,  and 
his  feeling  will  be  less  of  exultation  than  of  active 
gratitude  to  God,  who  has  kept  him  from  the  'hor- 
rible pit  and  miry  clay.  Though  we  cannot  look 
upon  the  sin  but  with  abhorrence,  nor  receive  the 
sinner  without  protest,  we  should  be  scrupulously 
careful  not  to  let  the  injury  rankle  and  fester  in 
our  souls.  A  wound  is  terribly  hard  to  heal  when 
the  proud  flesh  gets  into  it.  We  cannot  look  upon 
our  offending  brother  with  the  love  of  compla- 
cency, but  we  can  and  ought  to  cherish  the  love 


382  FORGIVENESS. 

of  benevolence.  We  can  pity  him,  for  sin  and 
crime  are  the  worst  calamities  that  can  befall  a 
man.  We  can  pray  for  him,  that  his  eyes  may  be 
opened,  —  not  simply  to  see  his  sin  against  us,  but 
to  see  his  sin.  We  can  watch  for  opportunities  to 
do  him  good,  if  so  be  he  may  be  shamed  into 
repentance ;  and  when  the  opportunity  comes,  we 
can  improve  it.  Here,  again,  we  have  God  for 
an  example.  This  is  the  attitude  in  which  the 
Bible  represents  him,  —  "a  God  ready  to  pardon, 
gracious  and  merciful,"  "good  and  ready  to  for- 
give, and  plenteous  in  mercy  unto  all  them  that 
call  upon  him."  Everywhere  He  stands  waiting, 
longing  to  forgive,  watching  the  first  symptoms  of 
repentance,  seeing  the  returning  sinner  when  he  is 
yet  a  great  way  off,  going  out  to  meet  him,  and 
not  only  receiving  him  as  a  son,  but  feasting  him 
as  an  honored  guest,  and  dearly  beloved.  Is  this 
our  attitude  ?  This  is  what  it  should  be.  For 
the  right's  sake  we  should  be  unswerving,  but  for 
the  sinner's  sake,  for  our  own  soul's  sake,  for 
Christ's  sake,  we  should  not  be  punctilious.  When 
repentance  comes,  we  should  forgive  freely,  fully, 
entirely,  —  like  God,  who  abundantly  pardons. 
Let  us  have  no  half-way  measures,  for  so  shall 
we  be  verily  guilty  concerning  our  brother.  The 
word  "  forget  "  need  give  no  trouble.  We  are  to 
forget  as  God  forgets  when  he  says,  "  I  will  for- 
give their  iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin 
no  more."     It  is  not  an  absolute,  intellectual  for- 


FORGIVENESS.  383 

getfiilness,  for  that  Is  not  a  part  of  his  nature. 
Nor  can  it  mean  so  to  us,  for  we  are  made  in  the 
ima^e  of  God.  Even  if  absolute  intellectual  for- 
giveness  is  ever  possible  to  us,  it  does  not  come 
within  the  scope  of  our  will.  We  cannot  for- 
get because  we  are  willing  to  forget,  nor  because 
we  wish  to  forget.  The  very  effort  would  only 
fix  the  fact  more  firmly  in  our  minds  and  mem- 
ories. Alas  !  alas !  how  many  know  this  too  sadly 
well !  How  gladly,  if  we  could,  would  we  erase 
the  little  memories  from  our  hearts  !  How  happy, 
if,  "in  the  silent  hour  of  inward  thought,"  no 
remembered  sin,  long  long  ago  committed  and 
repented  of,  no  folly,  no  weakness,  no  shame,  no 
pain,  should  rise  from  a  long-forgotten  grave 
to  haunt,  perhaps  to  reproach  !  But  memory  is 
the  avenger  of  conscience,  and  no  repentance  can 
stay  her  hand.  Not  even  the  abounding  love  of 
Christ  can  wrest  the  sting  from  this  worse  than 
death,  —  the  victory  from  these  relentless  graves. 
Christ  may  be  glorified  thereby,  and  we  rejoice  in 
that ;  but  we  must  be  forever  abased.  Man  and 
God  may  forgive,  but  the  soul  is  its  own  sternest 
janitor,  and  cannot  forget. 

The  forgetfulness  wherewith  God  forgets  the 
sins  of  his  repentant  children  is  of  the  heart,  not 
of  the  head.  It  is  such  foro-etfulness  as  the  mothei 
bestows  upon  the  little  one  who  weeps  out  hii 
sorrow  on  her  bosom.  Remembering  the  act,  she 
remembers  it  without  a  vestio;e  of  ano-er  or  dls 


384  ~^  FORGIVENESS. 

pleasure.  She  remembers  it  only  to  help  more 
generously  and  to  love  more  deeply.  So  should 
we  forgive  and  forget  the  trespasses  of  those  who 
trespass  against  us. 

Looking  at  it  in  this  light,  forgiveness  is  no  pas- 
sive, negative  stolidity,  the  despicable  birthright 
of  ignoble  souls,  but  an  active,  positive,  and  most 
Godlike  duty,  demanding  for  its  accomplishment 
the  exercise  of  man's  noblest  qualities,  —  those 
that  separate  him  from  the  beast,  and  make  him 
but  little  lower  than  the  angels,  —  nay,  rather,  that 
place  him  higher  than  the  angels,  —  allying  man 
to  Him  who  is  above  all  principality,  and  power, 
and  might,  and  dominion,  and  every  name  that  is 
named,  not  only  in  this  world,  but  in  that  which 
is  to  come. 

Looking  at  it  thus,  the  bravest  boy  may  not  fear 
lest  his  reputation  suffer  by  its  exercise.  So  far 
from  indicating  a  mean  spirit,  it  presupposes  a 
spirit  not  only  manly,  but,  since  it  is  in  the  image 
of  God,  divine.  A  mean  spirit  may  feel  an  insult, 
a  grovelling  spirit  may  resent  it,  but  only  a  lofty 
spirit  can  forgive. 

Looking  at  it  in  this  light,  we  shall  not  find  it 
hard  to  conduct  ourselves  justly,  as  well  as  Chris- 
tianly,  towards  those  who  have  trespassed  against 
others,  or  against  the  Republic,  or  against  God. 
Rightly  esteeming  the  blow  struck  at  the  least  of 
Christ's  little  ones  to  be  a  blow  struck  at  our- 
selves, —  rightly  feeling  those  injuries  most  sensi- 


FORGIVENESS.  385 

bly  which  do  not  affect  our  own  persons,  —  rightly 
shuddering  through  every  nerve  when  the  Repub- 
lic is  endangered  by  treacherous  friends,  and  the 
hurt  of  the  Church  is  slightly  healed,  —  we  will 
not  be  implacable  when  God  forgives.  When 
those  men,  North  or  South,  who  have  sinned 
against  human  rights ;  who  have  sought  to  place 
chains  upon  the  necks  of  freemen,  or  who  have 
not  sought  to  remove  the  chains  from  the  necks 
of  the  enslaved ;  who,  in  the  pursuit  of  their  un- 
righteous ends,  have  desolated  homes,  destroyed 
life,  and  publicly  perverted  justice ;  who  have 
trampled  upon  the  Constitution  that  would  not 
be  wrested  to  their  evil  purposes ;  who  have 
counted  the  blood  that  was  shed  for  freedom  of 
.httle  worth ;  who  have  sinned  most  deeply  in  this, 
that  they  have  sought  to  poison  the  fountains  of 
virtue  ;  who  have  wrought  ill  to  the  Republic 
most  in  this,  that  they  have  not  assaulted  her 
from  without,  but  have  laid  hold  of  her  strength 
within,  —  pouring  into  her  veins  the  turbid  flow 
of  vile  self-seeking,  instead  of  the  vigorous  pulse 
of  universal  right,  hastening  her  on  thereby  to 
premature  senility  and  decay ;  who  have  even 
gone  into  the  sanctuary,  and  laid  unholy  hands 
upon  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  making  the  word 
of  God  of  none  effect  by  their  traditions  ;  who 
have  uncovered  the  nakedness  of  the  land  that 
gave  them  birth,  causing  her  name  to  become  a 
by-word,  a  reproach,  and  a  hissing  among  the 
17  Y 


386  FORGIVENESS. 

nations  ;  —  when  even  these  shall  bethink  them- 
selves, and  repent,  and  make  supplication  unto  the 
Lord,  saying,  "  We  have  sinned,  and  have  done 
perversely,  we  have  committed  wickedness  "  ;  and 
so  return  unto  the  Lord  with  all  their  heart,  and 
with  all  their  soul,  then  will  we  too,  remember- 
ing the  plague  of  our  own  hearts,  join  our  voices 
with  theirs  to  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  crying, 
"  Hear  thou  their  prayer  and  their  supplication 
in  heaven  thy  dwelling-place,  and  maintain  their 
cause,  and  forgive  thy  people  that  have  sinned 
against  thee,  and  all  their  transgressions  where- 
in they  have  transgressed  against  thee  ;  for  they 
be  thy  people." 

Thus,  in  all  times  of  our  adversity  and  in  all 
times  of  our  prosperity,  in  the  hour  of  death  and 
in  the  day  of  judgment,  shall  we  be  able  to  say 
without  rebuke,  "  Forgive  us  our  trespasses,  as 
we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us." 


XIV, 


ERROR. 


T  is  no  matter  what  a  man  believes,  pro- 
vided he  is  sincere  in  his  behef,  —  is 
a  somewhat  common  affirmation.  It 
comes  chiefly  from  those  who  seem  to 
think  that  liberality  consists  in  having  no  boun- 
dary lines,  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  religious 
truth,  and  that,  though  convictions  must  be  toler- 
ated among  the  masses  on  account  of  the  shallow- 
ness of  their  minds,  and  the  narrowness  of  their 
views,  yet  the  true  condition  of  the  highest  hu- 
manity is  a  vast  and  barren  negation  ;  or  it  comes 
from  those  who  are  too  indifferent  or  indolent  to 
search  among  the  foundations  of  faith,  and,  either 
too  blind  to  recognize,  or  too  disingenuous  to  con- 
fess such  indifference  and  indolence,  endeavor  to 
satisfy  and  excuse  themselves  by  believing  that  the 
object  is  insignificant  and  the  pursuit  unworthy ; 
or  from  men  of  warm  hearts,  and  acute,  but  not 
large  observation,  who  see  in  every  sect  benevo- 


388  ERROR. 

lent,  virtuous,  and  Christian  individuals,  and  who 
can  in  no  other  way  reconcile  discrepancies  of 
faith  and  uniformity  of  practice. 

"  No  matter  what  a  man  believes,  if  he  is  only 
sincere  ! "  rejoin  those  whose  business  and  pleas- 
ure it  is  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints.  "But  if  a  man  is  awa- 
kened at  night  by  the  cry  that  his  house  is  on  fire, 
and  refuses  to  rise  and  flee  because  he  believes  the 
alarm  to  be  false,  will  his  belief  save  him  from  the 
flames  ?  Will  he  not  just  as  surely  perish  as  if  he 
did  not  so  believe  ?  A  man  eats  poison  thinking 
it  to  be  food,  but  shall  he  not  surely  die  ?  His 
belief  is  sincere,  but  it  does  not  save  him  from 
death." 

And  this  is  called  refutation.  The  error  is  sup- 
posed to  be  disproved,  —  shown  to  be  absurd. 

This  is  not  refutation,  —  not  a  sound,  thorough, 
logical,  satisfactory  refutation.  The  cases  are  not 
parallel.  If  the  cases  are  parallel,  and  it  is  a 
refutation,  the  matter  stands  thus  :  As  the  death 
of  the  body  inevitably  results  from  a  wrong  belief 
in  the  one  case,  so  the  death  of  the  soul  inevitably 
results  from  a  wrong  belief  in  the  other  case. 
It  follows  that  every  Universalist  and  Unitarian 
and  Roman  Catholic  will  be  forever  lost ;  for  they 
believe  to  be  false  certain  statements  which  we 
hold  to  be  fundamental  truths.  It  follow^s  also, 
that  every  pagan,  every  idiot,  every  baby,  from 
simple  lack  of  belief  in  the   Gospel,  whether  he 


ERROR.  389 

has  ever  heard  of  the  Gospel  or  not,  whether  he 
has  abihty  to  understand  its  conditions  and  meet 
its  requirements  or  not,  will  be  lost,  —  as  the  un- 
conscious invalid  or  the  sleeping  child  would  be 
lost  in  the  burning  house.  In  fact,  the  illustra- 
tion is  of  the  most  superficial  kind.  On  the  face 
of  it,  for  a  moment,  it  may  appear  to  be  accurate, 
but  it  does  not  stand  the  test  of  the  slio-htest  ex- 
amination.  It  leaves  the  real  difficulty  untouched, 
and  i1^  assumes  what  is  not  true,  and  so  creates  a 
new  difficulty,  and  is  an  obscuration  rather  than 
an  illustration.  It  assumes  that  moral  law  is  like 
physical  law.  Doubtless,  in  the  eyes  of  God, 
moral  law  is  just  as  exactly  defined,  its  causes  and 
effects  are  just  as  accurately  determined,  its  logical 
connections  are  just  as  rigorously  established,  as 
are  those  of  material  law  ;  but  not  to  our  eyes. 
"We  are  not  wise  overmuch  in  material  law.  We 
know  cause  and  effect  to  but  a  limited  extent.  A 
thousand  modifications  come  in  between  our  data 
and  our  conclusions,  and  greatly  affect  the  result. 
But  moral  law,  so  far  as  it  falls  within  our  scope, 
does  not  pretend  to  anything  like  the  accuracy  of 
material  law.  Motives,  inducements,  temptations, 
education,  —  a  thousand  circumstances  of  which 
one  mind  only  is  cognizant,  —  are  to  be  taken 
into  the  account.  In  material  law  result  is  ev- 
erything ;  motive  nothing.  A  man  may  burn  his 
house  or  poison  his  friend  from  carelessness  or 
mistaken  love,  but  the  house  burns  and  the  friend 


390  ERROR. 

dies  as  surely  as  if  malice  had  directed  the  deed. 
In  the  moral  world,  the  result  is  of  less  account 
than  the  motive,  or  rather  the  direct  and  apparent 
result  is  not  the  real  and  final  result.  The  actor, 
not  the  act,  is  the  important  point.  God  did  not 
forbid  Adam  to  eat  the  apple  because  he  wished 
to  save  the  apple,  but  because  he  wished  to  try 
Adam.  Jordan  had  no  medicinal  virtue  above 
Abana  and  Pharpar. 

The  reason  of  this  is  evident.  If  moral  law 
were  rigidly  defined,  if  the  details  of  our  faith  and 
practice  were  verbally  laid  down,  if  God  had 
made  us  so  that  we  could  guide  our  lives  with 
mathematical  accuracy,  we  should  have  been  little 
better  than  machines.  There  would  have  been 
no  margin  for  individual  endeavor,  no  elbow- 
room  for  love.  It  seems  as  if  the  Bible  was 
made  with  set  purpose  to  give  full  sway  to  our 
faith  and  forbearance,  our  zeal  and  trust  and 
candor.  God  could  have  revealed  every  article 
of  belief  to  us  with  such  clearness,  that  we  could 
no  more  doubt  than  we  doubt  that  two  and  two 
make  four,  —  that  fire  and  strychnine  are  fatal 
to  life.  It  would  have  been  just  as  easy  for  him 
to  reveal  everything  beyond  question,  as  to  re- 
veal it  as  he  has.  His  revelation  is  such  that 
scores  of  sects  have  sprung  up,  each  taking  the 
Bible  as  its  basis,  and  each  understanding  it  difier- 
ently.  One  thinks  baptism  by  immersion  is  the 
only  real  baptism,  and   one    thinks   sprinkling  is 


ERROR,  391 

equally  Scriptural.  One  sees  universal  salvation 
taught  there,  and  one  the  final  sorrow  of  the 
impenitent.  One  finds  God  in  Christ,  and  one 
finds  him  only  in  the  Father.  No  one  of  these 
sects  can  be  pronounced  to  be  without  real  and 
earnest  Christians  in  its  bosom.  And  did  not  God 
purposely  leave  his  golden  truths  somewhat  under- 
ground, that,  by  the  eagerness  and  assiduity  with 
which  we  dig  for  them,  and  by  the  courtesy  and 
kindness  which  we  show  to  others  encracred  in  the 
same  pursuit,  we  may  at  once  develop  a  healthy, 
vigorous,  and  refined  spiritual  life,  and  prove  how 
highly  we  prize  these  manifestations  of  his  will  ? 
If  we  care  to  take  only  such  truth  as  lies  on  the 
surface,  if  we  do  not  care  to  seek  the  hidden 
things  of  God,  our  love  cannot  be  very  warm, 
our  devotion  not  very  hearty.  If  at  every  turn  in 
life  God  stood  by  us,  pointing  out,  "  This  is  the 
way,  walk  ye  in  it,"  we  could  give  only  a  simple 
obedience ;  but  if  our  eagerness  to  reach  him  is 
strong  enough  to  make  us  pause  and  ponder,  ex- 
amine the  different  roads,  take  observations,  bridge 
ravines,  and  cut  down  the  underbrush,  we  have 
opportunity  to  show  the  strength  of  our  attach- 
ment and  the  depth  of  our  desire. 

Bearing  in  mind  still  that,  if  the  illustration  in 
question  be  pertinent,  it  follows  that  the  point 
believed  is  all-important,  and  the  sincerity  of  be- 
lief, and  its  causes,  conditions,  and  other  circum- 
stances, of  no  account  whatever,  it  is  worth  while 


392  ERROR. 

to  look  at  our  own  practice  in  such  cases  of  moral 
judgment  as  fall  within  our  jurisdiction. 

John  Brown  undoubtedly  believed  that  he  was 
doing  a  just,  and  right,  and  humane  thing  when 
he  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  country.  But  he 
suffered  the  penalty  in  spite  of  his  belief.  So  far 
the  example  applies.  But  though  the  law  does 
not,  the  world  does,  accept  his  belief  in  extenua- 
tion of  his  guilt.  He  died  a  felon's  death,  and  but 
for  his  beUef  would  have  been  a  felon.  Civil 
law  doomed  him  to  the  gallows ;  moral  law  has 
crowned  him  forever  with  the  wreath  of  martyr- 
dom. Now  God  governs  us  by  moral,  not  by 
civil  law.  Civil  law  is  the  endeavor  of  very  de- 
ficient, very  imperfect,  and  very  sinful  beings  to 
do  the  best  they  can,  —  to  compass  justice  as  far 
as  possible.  It  is  very  bulky  and  cumbrous.  It 
takes  cognizance  only  of  coarse  and  palpable  trans- 
gressions. It  is  hedged  about  by  rules.  It  is  "a 
creature  of  statutes  and  precedents.  It  only  ap- 
proximates justice.  By  complicated  machinery, 
by  close  and  elaborate  reasoning,  by  circuitous 
and  involved  processes,  it  only  succeeds  in  beat- 
ing back  the  great  waves  of  depravity.  It  just 
manages  to  prevent  anarchy  and  maintain  society. 
But  moral  law  is  the  instrument  and  the  pre- 
rogative of  Omnipotence.  It  is  delicate,  direct, 
penetrating,  instantaneous,  infallible.  It  has  no 
statutes  of  limitation.  It  is  self-adjusting,  self- 
executing.     It  does  not,  like  civil  law,  stop  short 


ERROR.  893 

at  the  life.  It  pierces  into  the  souh  It  discerns 
the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  It  gives  to 
every  circumstance  its  just  weight.  It  permeates 
everywhere.  It  embraces  everything.  It  is  ade- 
quate, exact,  perfect. 

We  may  not  know  the  sentence  of  Divine  Jus- 
tice upon  that  brave  old  man  whose  deeds  and 
death  rincp  in  a  thousand  sono;s,  but  is  there  in  the 
whole  Christian  Church  one  who  believes  that  his 
soul  went  to  God  burdened  with  the  guilt  of  mur- 
der and  insurrection  ?  Yet  if  sincerity  of  behef 
and  the  circumstances  which  induced  it  are  of  no 
account,  his  acts  were  murder  and  rebellion. 

There  are  thousands  at  the  South  who  believe 
that  they  are  engaged  in  a  war  of  right  against 
wrong,  of  liberty  against  slavery,  of  independence 
against  servihty.  They  are  really  engaged  in 
treason.  If  the  sincerity  of  a  man's  belief  has  no 
effect  upon  a  man's  charactei*  and  fate,  then  every 
Secessionist  is  individually  guilty  of  the  most  ter- 
rible crime  which  a  citizen  and  the  most  heinous 
sin  which  a  man  can  commit.  There  is  not  in  the 
rebel  ranks  one  Christian.  All  their  prayer  is 
mockery.  All  their  virtue  is  hypocrisy.  Every 
man  is  a  wretch.  Every  woman  is  a  monster. 
Do  we  believe  this  ?  We  believe  nothlns;  of  the 
sort.  We  believe  that  there  are  good  and  true 
men  and  women  among  our  bitter  foes.  They 
have  been  misled  by  wicked  men.  They  have 
been  deceived  by  false   statements.     -They  have 

17* 


894  ERROR. 

been  blinded  from  their  youth.  They  cherish  a 
false  faith.  But  beneath  all  the  integuments  of 
falsehood,  we  discern  the  royal  humanity.  Nay, 
even  the  civil  law,  awkward,  unwieldy,  and  clumsy 
as  it  is,  takes  cognizance  of  these  facts,  and  when 
the  rank  and  file  lay  down  their  arms  they  will 
find  mercy,  because  they  did  it  ignorantly  through 
unbelief. 

So  the  civil  law  permits  a  man  to  go  free  who  has 
killed  his  neighbor,  if  it  be  shown  that  he  supposed 
himself  to  be  doing  it  in  self-defence,  even  thouo;h 
in  reality  he  were  not  attacked.  Military  law 
does  not  condemn  a  sentinel  who  shoots  one  of  his 
own  men  under  the  supposition  that  he  is  a  rebel 
and  a  spy.  If  civil  and  military  law,  which  must, 
from  the  nature  of  things,  be  full  of  imperfection, 
and  must  especially  be  able  to  inform  themselves 
but  very  inadequately  regarding  the  modifying 
circumstances, — if  they  allow  themselves  to  be 
influenced  by  these,  is  i-t  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  moral  law,  administered  by  a  Lawgiver 
and  Judge  who  has  made  the  law  absolutely  per- 
fect, and  who  knows  thoroughly  what  is  in  the 
heart  of  man,  who  judges  not  by  the  faltering  ac- 
count which  we  are  able  to  frame  and  render,  but 
by  the  accurate  knowledge  which  he  possesses  of 
every  thought  and  motive  and  purpose,  more  ac- 
curate than  that  of  our  own  hearts,  —  is  it  reason- 
able to  suppose  that  such  a  one  will  take  into 
account  only  the  simple  fact  of  belief,  and  that  the 


ERROR.  395 

man  will  lose  or  save  his  soul  according  as  lie  re- 
jects or  receives  this  or  that  article  of  our  creed  ? 

Is  it  then  true,  that  sincerity  of  belief,  and  not 
correctness  of  belief,  is  the  point  to  be  attained  ? 
Not  at  all.  Because  a  thing  is  not  black,  it  does 
not  necessarily  follow  that  it  is  white.  The  asser- 
tion in  question  is  not  wholly  without  foundation. 
It  is  the  caricature,  the  exaggeration,  of  a  truth  ; 
and  it  is  not  to  be  turned  aside  with  a  specious  re- 
mark. It  is  not  surprising  that  such  an  opinion 
should  have  gained  credence,  when  we  see  hum- 
ble and  devout  Christians  in  every  sect,  and  works 
of  love  and  mercy  wrought  under  every  creed. 
But  there  is  a  fallacy,  though  it  would  appear  to 
be  not  easy  to  point  it  out. 

The  assertion  is,  in  the  first  place,  irreverent. 
It  assumes  that  truths  which  God  has  thought  fit 
to  bring  within  our  reach  are  not  worth  grasping, 
—  that  the  souls  which  he  made  can  be  nourished 
just  as  well  by  falsehood  as  by  truth.  It  puts  the 
type  and  the  thing  typified  on  the  same  ground. 
The  apple  which  Eve  ate  was  of  no  consequence, 
but  the  sin  which  it  symbolized  is  of  terrible  mo- 
ment. The  brazen  sei-pent  was  only  a  molten 
image,  but  he  who  hung  upon  the  cross  was  the 
Lord  of  glory.  Yet  the  assertion  reduces  both  to 
the  same  level  of  intrinsic  insignificance. 

It  is  unreasonable.  It  breaks  in  upon  the  anal- 
ogy which  obtains  throughout  nature.  Falsehood 
is  always  deleterious.       Falsehood,    rested   upon, 


896  ERRUu. 

and  trusted  in,  as  ultimate  truth,  even  in  the  nat- 
ural sciences,  works  derangement,  and  tends  to 
chaos.  Surely,  spiritual  matters  are  quite  as  im- 
portant as  scientific.  If,  in  them,  a  shght  error  in 
the  premises  expands  to  grievous  error  in  the  con- 
clusion, can  it  be  supposed  that  spiritual  error  is 
harmless  ?  It  is  true  that  error  may  not  inevita- 
bly be  fatal  in  the  spiritual,  any  more  than  in  the 
scientific  world;  but  as,  in  the  latter,  content  with 
and  rest  in  it  effectually  bar  progress  in  truth,  so 
in  the  former.  In  both,  wrong  is  too  serious  a 
matter  to  be  tampered  with.  The  possible  con- 
sequences of  wrong  opinions  are  too  wide-spread, 
too  destructive,  to  allow  any  laxity  in  pursuit  of 
truth,  any  indifference  to  the  reception  of  false- 
hood. The  vertex  of  an  angle  rests  on  a  point, 
but  the  lines  that  subtend  it  may  stretch  far  be- 
yond our  vision.  Nothing  is  sure  but  what  is 
right,  and  the  possibility  of  wrong  demands  as 
great  a  vigilance  as  the  certainty  of  wrong.  So 
likewise  does  the  possibility  of  evil  consequences. 

So  much  for  the  assertion  itself.  A  glance  at 
the  appearances  which  induce  it. 

Every  creed  is  to  be  judged  by  itself,  and  by  its 
tendencies.  The  first  I  leave  out  of  view,  as  not 
germane  to  this  subject.  Every  sect  must  be  sup- 
posed to  have  examined  its  own  creed  before  it 
accepted  it.  Nobody  believes  that  to  be  true 
which  he  judges  to  be  false  ;  but  as  in  point  of 
fact  only  one  of  two  antagonistic  statements  can 


ERROR.  397 

be  true,  and  as  the  adherents  of  each  sincerely 
beheve  their  doctrine  to  be  true,  Scriptural,  and 
inherently  reasonable,  we  come  to  the  very  point 
where  people  say  that  it  is  no  matter  w^hat  a  man 
believes  if  he  is  sincere,  and  where  the  refuters 
aforementioned  join  issue  ;  and  where  it  is  per- 
tinent to  bring  forward  the  tendencies  of  a  creed 
to  disprove  the  assertion.  Looking  at  individual 
members  of  individual  churches,  and  observing 
their  patience  of  hope,  and  their  labor  of  love,  it 
may  indeed  seem  that  differences  of  faith  are 
immaterial ;  but  a  creed  is  to  be  judged  not  by 
the  life  of  a  single  individual  who  professes  it,  but 
by  the  effect  wdiich  it  has  on  the  masses.  One 
honest  and  devout  man  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and 
w^orshlps  the  Virgin  Mary;  but  if  you  find  that 
the  tendencies  of  the  Catholic  creed  are  to  ham- 
per the  mind  and  enervate  the  heart,  —  if,  in 
countries  Avhere  Cathohcism  has  free  course  to 
run  and  be  glorified,  you  see  science  stifled  by 
superstition,  literature  languishing,  the  liberal  arts 
neglected,  progress  prevented,  —  if  on  every  hand 
you  see  ignorance,  servility,  and  sloth,  —  wdn'le, 
in  countries  under  the  influence  of  a  different 
creed,  you  see  a  different  state  of  things,  —  you 
must  judge  that  creed  to  be  a  false  one,  and 
you  must  see  that  it  is  of  importance  that  a  man 
believe  right.  So  If  you  see  that  one  faith  seems 
to  chill  and  benumb  the  heart ;  if  it  fi^eezes  the 
genial  current  of  the  soul ;  if  it  closes  the  avenues 


398  ERROR. 

of  love  and  hope  and  benevolence  ;  if  it  makes 
its  votaries  proud  and  disdainful  and  heedless ;  if 
it  works  works  of  selfishness  and  frivolity  and 
isolation  and  self-laudation  ;  or  if  it  makes  men 
careless  of  tlieir  duties,  and  thoughtless  of  God ; 
or  if  it  culminates  in  a  superstitious  rejection  of 
all  creeds,  substituting  no  creed  of  its  own,  but 
only  the  ghost  of  a  dead  negation  ;  if  it  exalts 
man  above  all  that  is  called  God ;  if  it  puts  the 
works  on  a  level  with  the  worker;  if  it  invests 
stocks  and  stones  with  Divine  attributes  ;  if  it  in- 
vests divinity  with  infernal  attributes  ;  if  it  deifies 
lust  and  hatred  and  malice  and  pride  and  re- 
venge ;  —  then  you  must  infer  not  only  that  the 
creed  is  false,  but  that  belief  or  disbelief  regard- 
ing it  is  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance. 
You  see  that  it  does  bear  fruit,  and  because  its 
fruit-  as  well  as  its  nature  is  evil,  it  is  evil.  Two 
or  three  individuals,  or  two  or  three  thousand, 
may  stem  the  current  of  their  creed,  and  preserve 
their  integrity. 

*'  Like  the  white  swan  down  the  troubled  stream, 
Whose  ruffling  pinions  have  the  power  to  fling 
Aside  the  turbid  drops  that  darkly  gleam, 
And  mar  the  freshness  of  her  snowy  wing," 

they  may  be  warm  in  spite  of  a  cold  faith,  pure 
in  spite  of  a  vile  one,  or  true  in  spite  of  a  false 
one.  But  a  faith  was  given  for  the  many,  and 
the  faith  that  is  most  firm  and  sustaining  and 
ennobling  and  tender  and  true  is  the  true  faith, 


ERROR.  399 

and  such  a  faith  is  worth  fighting  for.  Nor  do  I 
mean  to  say  that  there  are  any  who  can  live  just 
as  well  under  a  false  as  under  a  true  creed,  but 
only  that  some  will  not  be  so  wholly  shipwrecked 
as  others.  No  man  can  bow  to  an  idol,  and  be  as 
noble  a  man  as  if  he  worshipped  the  living  God. 
Between  God  and  the  man  who  adores  him, 
there  is  a  perpetual  ebb  and  flow.  New  every 
morning,  and  fresh  every  evening,  this  tidal  wave 
bears  up  our  mortal  adoration  to  the  skies,  and 
sweeps  down  the  Divine  effluence  into  our  hearts. 
But  the  pagan  hurtles  his  soul  against  a  rock,  and 
all  is  dumb  and  hard  and  cold.  Truth  will  not 
be  discarded  with  impunity.  If  a  man's  life  be 
pure  with  a  false  faith,  it  would  be  dazzling  with 
a  true  one.  You  cannot  have  falsehood  without 
friction,  and  if  the  chariot-wheels  run  well  in 
spite  of  friction,  what  speed  would  they  not  attain 
if  the  friction  were  removed  ! 

The  very  assertion  that  it  is  no  matter  what  a 
man  believes,  if  he  is  only  sincere,  gives  us  a 
glimpse  of  the  frightful  gulf  fixed  in  some  minds 
between  belief  and  practice.  It  indicates  a  divorce 
between  religion  and  life,  between  faith  and  works, 
of  which  one  cannot  think  without  dismay.  No 
matter  what  a  man  believes,  if  he  is  sincere  ?  If 
a  man  is  indeed  sincere,  will  he  not  work  himself 
practically  right  ?  If  any  man  will  do  His  will,  he 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God. 
Thus  alone  is  sincerity  of  belief  valuable.     A  sin- 


400  ERROR. 

cere  belief  that  does  not  bear  on  the  life,  or  that 
bears  it  down,  is  little  worth;  while  if  a  man  is 
indeed  searching  for  truth,  if  he  goes  to  the  Source 
of  light  for  light,  if  he  applies  to  the  Fountain  of 
wisdom,  he  shall  receive  wisdom  and  light  and 
truth.  No  man  asks  his  Heavenly  Father  for 
bread,  and  receives  a  stone.  He  may  go  for  a 
stone.  He  may  be  seeking,  not  for  what  is  true, 
but  for  what  will  build  up  his  opinions,  strengthen 
liis  party,  and  give  him  the  victory ;  and  he  will 
probably  get  what  he  is  after.  But  the  man  who 
seeks  to  know  what  is  the  will  of  God  concerning 
him,  will  be  sure  to  succeed.  His  sincere  belief 
will  act  on  his  life,  and  his  life  will  react  on  his 
belief.  So  far  as  he  is  sincere,  he  will  follow  on 
to  know  the  Lord,  and  as  he  goes  he  will  see 
that,  though  the  landmarks  are  not  removed,  and 
though  every  one  saith,  I  am  of  Paul,  and  I  of 
Apollos,  and  I  of  Cephas,  and  I  of  Christ,  yet 
Christ  is  not  divided.  Neither  Paul,  nor  Luther, 
nor  Servetus,  nor  Wesley,  was  crucified  for  us  ; 
but  the  ultimate,  the  momentous,  the  essential 
fact  stands,  that  there  is  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above 
all,  and  through  all,  aiid  in  alh  those  whose  life  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God. 


XV, 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 


guage 


.T  is  not  possible  to  be  too  familiar 
with  the  spirit  or  the  letter  of  the 
Bible,  nor  are  people  often  too  much 
addicted  to  the  use  of  Scripture  lan- 
but  it  is  of  great  importance  that  it 
be  used  understandingly.  A  passage  of  Scrip- 
ture, aptly  quoted,  has  often  more  pith,  point, 
power,  than  anything  else  could  have ;  but,  inapt, 
it  recoils  both  on  him  who  employs  it  and  on  the 
cause  which  it  was  intended  to  further.  Some  of 
the  expressions  of  self-abasement  to  be  met  with  in 
prayers,  exhortations,  and  religious  books,  though 
transferred  bodily  from  the  Bible,  are  injudicious 
and  disagreeable.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear 
good  men  call  themselves  "  worms  of  the  dust," 
but  the  impression  produced  is  unpleasant.  You 
feel  that  the  statement  is  not  just.  Look  at  man's 
body  only,  brimful  of  hinges,  balls,  sockets,  tubes, 
cells,  bags,  and  strings,  with  its  more  than  two  hun- 


402         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

dred  beautiful  ivory  bones,  everything  ingeniously 
contrived  so  as  to  combine  the  greatest  lightness 
with  the  greatest  speed,  strength,  durability,  and 
beauty,  —  a  set  of  complex  and  delicate  machin- 
ery, doing  its  own  oiling  and  repairing,  working 
without  friction,  and  of  which  the  most  admired 
inventions  of  man  are  but  a  clumsy  imitation. 
Then  look  at  the  worm  that  disfigures  your  gar- 
den-walk after  a  shower,  —  a  long,  raw,  writhing, 
disgusting  little  fellow,  without  a  bone  in  his  body, 
—  no  limbs,  no  eyes,  no  lungs  to  speak  of,  and 
not  so  much  of  a  head  but  that  he  can  spare  it 
with  the  smallest  possible  inconvenience.  Cut 
him  in  pieces,  and  he  plasters  up  the  ends  and 
makes  himself  answer.  Head  or  tail,  it  is  all 
one  to  him,  or  all  two,  or  all  three,  as  the  case 
may  be ;  the  only  difference  being  that,  whereas 
he  was  one  before,  he  is  now  a  mob.  And  a 
man  calls  himself  such  a  one  as  this  !  When,  in 
addition,  you  consider  that  marvellous  and  awful 
Thing,  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard, 
whose  substance  no  man  knows,  which  we  cannot 
define,  and  can  describe  only  by  saying  what 
it  does, — it  thinks,  it  loves,  it  hopes,  it  suffers, 
it  reasons,  it  remembers,  —  that  Living  Principle 
which  sits  inscrutable,  in  solitary  state,  behind  all 
nerve  and  muscle  and  blood  and  brain,  without 
which  nerve  and  muscle  and  blood  and  brain  are 
but  so  many  particles  of  dust, —  what  has  a  man 
in  common  with  a  worm  ? 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         403 

Do  you  say  that  his  sinfulness  is  so  great  that 
he  is  an  abomination  in  God's  sight  ?  Then  you 
slander  the  worm ;  for  he  is  not  an  abomination  to 
his  Maker.  I  suppose  a  worm  is,  in  its  way,  just 
as  pleasing  to  God  as  an  archangel ;  that  is,  the 
worm  is  just  as  exactly  what  God  meant  before- 
hand a  worm  should  be,  as  an  archangel  is.  It 
just  as  truly  fulfils  the  end  for  which  it  was  cre- 
ated. In  its  own  little  sphere  —  the  hole  which 
it  has  bored  in  the  ground  —  it  is  like  everything 
else  which  God  has  made,  ''  good."  It  cannot  sin. 
It  never  violated  law.  It  never  disregarded  con- 
science, nor  forgot  God ;  nor  has  it  ever  passed, 
or  shall  it  pass,  away  from  its  Maker's  notice. 
There  is,  in  that  respect,  no  comparison  to  be  made 
between  it  and  a  human  beino;. 

Do  you  say,  that,  although  man  is  so  fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made,  yet,  compared  with  God, 
he  is  but  as  the  worm  to  man?  But  "  God  cre- 
ated man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God 
created  he  him."  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the 
temple  of  God,  and  that  the  spirit  of  God  dwelleth 
in  you?  If  any  man  defile  the  temple  of  God, 
him  shall  God  destroy ;  for  the  temple  of  God  is 
holy,  which  temple  ye  are."  When  Deity  became 
incarnate,  he  took  not  upon  him  the  nature  of 
worms,  but  of  man  ;  and  shall  man,  the  only  being 
created  in  the  image  of  God,  the  being  honored 
above  all  other  created  beino;s  in  lendino;  his  like- 
ness  to  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  and  furthermoi'e 


404         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

and  forever  elevated  and  sanctified  thereby, — 
shall  he  voluntarily  debase  himself  to  the  level  of 
a  creature  with  not  a  thousandth  part  of  his  phys- 
ical, nor  a  millionth  part  of  his  mental  faculties, 
nor  any  of  his  divine  privileges  ?  This  is  not 
honoring  God.  God  is  never  honored  by  vilifying 
his  works.  An  artist  is  not  honored  by  decrying 
his  pictures.  A  machinist  is  not  honored  by 
treating  lightly  the  engine  which  he  has  built. 
God  is  great,  yet  man  is  but  little  lower  than  the 
angels.  God  is  great,  yet  in  nothing  that  we 
know  greater  than  in  this,  that  the  man  whom 
he  has  made  in  his  own  image,  chained  down  to 
one  little  world  and  a  few  years  of  time,  can,  by 
his  own  wonderful,  God-given  powers,  sweep  the 
broad  heavens,  pierce  the  deep  earth,  grasp  the  in 
finite  past,  penetrate  the  infinite  future,  and  be  the 
discoverer  and  the  historian  of  worlds  in  number- 
less ages  before  he  was  born,  and  boundless  space 
where  he  has  never  been.  Man,  man  only  is  made 
after  the  likeness  of  God  ;  man  only  is  bought  with 
a  price  ;  therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body  and 
in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's. 

Probably  the  phrase  in  question  is  generally 
used  without  thought,  without  discrimination,  al- 
most without  meaning.  It  is  found  in  the  Bible, 
and,  assuming  that  anything  found  there  must 
always  be  available,  it  is  pressed  into  service..  But 
it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Bible  is  the 
revelation  of  God  to  man  through  an  Eastern  na- 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         405 

tion ;  and  that  Eastern  nations,  with  their  warmer 
imaginations  and  fiercer  passions,  have  a  style  far 
more  highly  colored  than  ours.  Phrases  which  are 
every-day  language  with  them,  would  be  senseless 
extravagance  with  us.  Phrases  which  express 
our  Ideas,  emotions,  and  sentiments  quite  ade- 
quately, would  be  bald,  dry,  and  tame  to  them. 
Of  course,  the  revelation  of  God  Is  tinged  by  the 
medium  through  which  It  passes.  That  Is,  the 
earthly  part  of  the  Bible,  Its  physical  nature,  its 
body,  that  part  of  It  which  Is  not  divine.  Is  He- 
brew, Oriental,  —  not  French,  nor  Celtic,  nor 
Anglo-Saxon  ;  just  as  Christ  was  a  Jew,  and  not 
a  Spaniard  or  a  Russian.  Consequently,  the 
Bible  has'  the  fervor,  the  luxuriance,  the  hyper- 
bole, the  warm,  poetical,  profusely-Illustrated  style 
which  characterizes  the  literature  and  the  life  of 
the  East.  This  should  be  borne  In  mind  in 
understanding,  quoting,  and  applying  it.  It  is 
necessary  In  order  to  avoid  misapplication,  and  a 
savor  of  hypocrisy,  or  at  least  insincerity.  For 
example,  "  The  Lord  Is  my  rock,"  would  but  111 
personify  God's  protective  benevolence  to  a  sailor, 
to  whom  rocks  are  the  monsters  of  the  deep,  —  a 
fear  and  a  dread ;  but  the  dweller  In  a  war-like 
country,  where  the  rock-ribbed  hills  are  fortified 
posts,  surmounted  with  towers,  bristhng  with  sol- 
diers, and  a  refuge  against  all  enemies,  would  feel 
the  full  force  of  the  Psalmist's  exultant  song: 
"  The  Lord  is  my  rock,  and  my  fortress,  and  my 


406         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

deliverer ;  the  God  of  my  rock  ;  in  him  will  I 
trust :  he  Is  my  shield,  and  the  horn  of  my  salva- 
tion, my  liigli  tower,  and  my  refuge,  my  Saviour ; 
thou  savest  me  from  violence."  So  a  dweller  In 
sunny  lands,  wdio  Is  forced  to  make  toilsome 
journeys  over  long,  low,  level,  monotonous  tracts, 
would  naturally  represent  the  loving-kindness  of 
God  as  the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary 
land. 

It  was  natural  for  Job,  born  and  bred  In  the 
land  of  Uz,  his  children  cut  off  suddenly  and 
simultaneously,  in  the  prime  of  life,  his  great 
wealth  gone,  his  reputation  threatened,  if  not 
actually  destroyed,  his  person  the  prey  of  a  foul 
and  loathsome  disease,  in  his  bitterness  and  deso- 
lation and  fierce  self-disgust  to  say  to  corruption, 
"Thou  art  my  father;  to  the  worm,  Thou  art 
my  mother,  and  my  sister."  It  was  not  unnat- 
ural that  David  —  an  outcast  from  his  country 
and  king ;  getting  his  bread  by  downright  lying ; 
feigning  madness,  scrabbling  on  the  doors,  and 
letting  his  spittle  fall  down  upon  his  beard,  to 
save  himself  from  the  sword  of  Achish ;  hunted 
by  a  half-crazy,  but  strong  and  savage  king, 
from  post  to  post ;  hiding  in  mountain,  and  wil- 
derness, and  dens,  and  caves,  and  every  available 
lurking-place ;  the  jest  of  servile  courtiers  ;  the 
captain  of  a  rabble  of  malecontents  and  distressed 
debtors  —  should  exclaim  in  despondency,  "  I  am 
a   worm,  and  no  man  ;    a  reproach  of  men,  and 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         407 

despised  of  the  people."'  But  for  an  intelligent 
New-Englander  of  good  habits,  good  principles, 
good  conduct,  good  health ;  familiar  with  abstract 
ideas,  and  unaccustomed  to  metaphor ;  who  un- 
derstands the  difference  between  moral  and  nat- 
ural ability ;  calls  his  cliildren  George  and  Jane, 
and  not  "  the  Son  of  my  Sorrow,"  or  "  the  De- 
light of  the  Lord,"  —  for  him  calmly  to  pronounce 
himself  a  worm,  is  not  consistent,  to  say  the  least. 
His  conduct  and  bearing  do  not  indicate  that  deep, 
prostrating,  overwhelming  sense  of  unworthiness 
which  his  words  imply.  He  is  coherent,  method- 
ical, self-possessed,  —  listens  attentively  to  others, 
shakes  hands  and  exchanges  salutations  with  his 
friends  afterwards,  and  is  extremely  cheerful,  com- 
fortable, and  contented  —  for  a  worm.  If  he  felt 
as  he  spoke,  would  this  be  so  ?  What  did  Job  do  ? 
He  sat  down  among  the  ashes,  and  scraped  him- 
self with  a  bit  of  broken  earthenware,  in  a  grief  so 
distressing,  so  profound,  and  so  appalling,  that  for 
seven  days  and  nights  his  fi'iends  dared  not  speak 
a  word  unto  him.  It  should  be  a  grief  akin  to 
this  that  should  stir  our  cool  blood  to  such  violent 
speech.  On  the  contrary,  as  far  as  I  have  ob- 
served, it  is  done  with  entire  complacency,  and 
the  inference  can  but  be  that  the  man  speaks  not 
because  he  feels,  but  because  he  does  not  feel. 
We  suspect  the  sincerity  of  his  humility.  A  man 
nmst  have  a  pretty  good  opinion  of  himself  in 
private,  to  risk  the  defamation  of  his  character  in 


408         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

public.  You  do  not  hear  a  miserly  Christian  call- 
ing himself  stingy  in  the  prayer-meeting,  nor  will 
an  UHtrustworthy  church-member  calmly  accuse 
himself  of  lying,  or  a  gossiping  sister  affirm  that 
she  is  a  common  tattler  and  mischief-maker.  But 
a  man  may  confess  himself  in  general  terms  a 
worm,  without  meaning  anything  in  particular ; 
and  at  the  same  time  soothe  his  conscience,  and 
perhaps  really  believe  that  he  is  devoutly  and 
sincerely  humble,  or,  at  any  rate,  not  suspect  the 
contrary.  Let,  however,  his  partner  in  the  shop, 
or  his  political  friend  or  rival,  intimate  to  him  in 
a  secular  and  special  way  that  he  is  a  little  weak 
in  mind,  or  morally  unsound,  and  he  will  soon  dis- 
cover that,  unlike  worms,  he  has  bright  eyes,  well- 
defined  lungs  and  tongue,  not  to  say  fists  and  feet. 

God  requires  no  morbid  humiliation,  even  when 
sincere.  Job  was  undoubtedly  sincere,  yet  the 
Lord  answered  him  out  of  the  whirlwind,  "  Who 
is  this  that  darkeneth  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge  ?  Gird  up  now  thy  loins  like  a 
man  !  " 

But  every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak  —  idle 
words  of  humility  or  idle  words  of  pride  —  they 
shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment. 

True  humility  does  not  require  a  man  to  rate 
himself  at  other  than  his  real  value.  It  never  en- 
joins upon  him  to  sink  below,  any  more  than  it 
permits  him  to  rise  above,  his  proper  level.  If 
humility  consists,  as  Jeremy  Taylor  says,  in  hav- 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         409 

ing  a  real  mean  and  low  opinion  of  one's  self,  then 
was  he  not  hnmble  who  asserted  himself  to  be  the 
Light  of  the  world.  The  sincerest  humility  does 
not  prevent  a  man  from  recognizing  what  is  honor- 
able in  his  character,  any  more  than  it  prevents 
him  from  ignoring  what  is  dishonorable.  It  will 
not  make  a  man  accuse  himself  of  sins  of  which 
he  is  not  guilty,  any  more  than  it  will  make  him 
attribute  to  himself  virtues  which  he  does  not  pos- 
sess. This  is  readily  seen  in  matters  which  are 
cognizable  by  the  senses,  and  can  be  testified  to  in 
a  court  of  justice  ;  but  it  is  not  always  clearly  seen 
in  points  more  metaphysical.  No  honest  man, 
however  sorry  for  sin,  confesses  himself  a  thief; 
but  repentant  Christiailfe  frequently  rise  in  prayer- 
meetings,  and  lament  that  they  are  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins.  Yet  it  is  not  possible  that  they 
are  so.  Dead  ?  The  very  fact  that  they  say  it 
—  always  supposing  them  to  be  sincere,  and  not 
hypocrites  —  shows  that  they  are  not.  "  Dead 
men  tell  no  tales."  Dead  men  —  I  mean,  as  they 
do,  men  spiritually  dead  —  do  not  speak  at  all. 
They  do  not  think  about  their  sins.  They  do  not 
know  that  they  have  committed  any ;  and  if  they 
aid,  they  would  not  care.  They  do  evil  just  as 
wilimgly  as  good.  They  are  entirely  indifferent  to 
the  character  and  the  claims  of  God.  eTust  so  loner 
as  a  man  feels  that  he  is  a  sinner,  just  so  long  he 
may  know  that  he  is  alive,  —  perhaps  not  very 
keenly,  and  watchfully,  and  jubilantly  alive,  but 

18 


410         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

alive  enough  to  have  consciousness.  He  may  not 
be  in  a  healthy  state  :  his  head  may  be  sick,  and 
his  heart  faint,  but  he  still  lives.  Whatever  else 
is  true  of  him,  it  is  not  true  tliat  he  is  dead.  To 
be  dead  is  to  be  without  life,  without  warmth, 
without  feeling,  or  reason,  or  desire,  or  despair,  or 
hope,  or  fear,  or  purpose  ;  and  it  is  wrong  for  a  man, 
who  has  enough  of  any  or  all  of  these  to  be  aware 
of  his  condition,  to  call  himself  dead.  St.  Paul 
tells  the  Ephesians  that  they  we7'e  dead  in  tres- 
passes and  sins ;  but  they  knew  nothing  about  it  till 
God  had  quickened  them.  A  knowledge  of  past 
death  may  come  with  resurrection ;  but  in  death 
itself  there  is  no  remembrance,  no  consciousness. 

Nor  is  it  at  all  certain  that  the  Church  is  as  cold 
and  dead  as  its  members  are  apt  to  say  in  prayer- 
meetings.  They  who  assert  it  are  beyond  their 
depth.  Men  know  very  little  of  the  lives,  still  less 
of  the  hearts,  of  their  brothers  and  sisters,  and  they 
are  generally  incompetent  to  pass  judgment.  The 
brother  who  seems  to  you  altogether  too  much  given 
up  to  the  pursuit  of  worldly  profit,  to  the  accumula- 
tion of  property,  may  be  cherishing  in  his  inmost 
heart,  and  planning  in  his  eager  brain,  and  shaping 
with  his  skilful  hand,  some  darling  scheme,  which 
shall  redound  a  thousand-fold  to  the  glory  of  Christ 
and  the  Church.  The  gay  girl  who  seems  to  you  to 
have  far  too  much  of  the  butterfly  for  life's  serious- 
ness, may  be  doing  her  work  just  as  conscientiously 
as  the  Apostle  Paul  did  his.     How  do  you  know 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         411 

that  there  is  not  a  method  in  her  gayetj?  How- 
do  you  know  that  she  does  not  believe  it  to  be  her 
Christian  duty  and  Divine  mission,  as  well  as  inno- 
cent pleasure,  to  throw  what  little  sunshme  she 
may  on  the  severe  outlmes  and  sombre  coloring  of 
life  ?  "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,"  rings  in  your  ears, 
but  the  voice  that  sings  through  her  soul  say&,  "Re- 
joice evermore" ;  and  both  are  divine.  May  it  not 
be  that  the  supposed  miser,  wdio  earns  your  disap- 
probation and  contempt,  has  not  one  quarter  of  the 
income  which  you  lay  to  his  account,  or  has  four 
times  the  expenditure  ?  What  do  you  know  of  the 
poor  relations,  the  distant  dependents,  the  obscure 
charities,  the  inherited  debts,  the  hampering  ties, 
that  hold  him  back  ?  You  think  your  brother 
who  goes  to  sleep  in  church  must  have  grown 
lukewarm ;  but  suppose  you  had  gone  to  the 
marshes  to  make  hay,  for  three,  or  four,  or  five 
days  past,  getting  up  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, driving  your  team  half  a  dozen  miles,  mowing, 
raking,  cocking,  spreading,  loadmg  hay  till  night- 
fall, up  to  your  knees  in  water  half  the  time,  —  or 
suppose  you  had  been  carrying  that  hay  to  mar- 
ket, twenty  miles  away,  driving  your  team  on  foot 
over  the  frozen  ground,  —  or  suppose  you  had  been 
harassed  by  the  complications  of  your  business,  by 
fears  of  bankruptcy,  and  a  consequent  sacrifice  of 
your  reputation  for  sagacity,  not  to  say  honor,  — 
or  suppose  that  in  any  way  the  perplexities  of  life 
had  been  unusually  aggressive,  as  they  sometimes 


412  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

are,  —  would  it  be  the  most  unnatural  thing  in  the 
world  if,  when  you  had  put  them  away  from  you 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  were  sitting 
tranquilly  in  a  quiet  room,  you  should  fall  asleep  ? 
It  is  not  necessarily  religious  indifference.  It  may 
be  bodily  fatigue.  The  spirit  may  be  wiUing,  and 
the  flesh  only  weak.  I  trust  I  shall  not  be  consid- 
ered as  justifying  or  excusing  avarice,  frivolity,  or 
criminal  mdifference.  Undoubtedly  peoj)le  some- 
times get  more  tired  than  they  have  any  right  to 
do.  They  fret  over  their  business  more  than  a 
Christian  should.  A  man  with  a  grand  benevo- 
lence ill  view  may  neglect  many  small  benevo- 
lences to  which  it  is  equally  his  duty  to  attend. 
But  what  I  wish  is  simply  to  suggest  that  things 
are  not  always  what  they  seem,  and  it  is  Chris- 
tian charity,  sometimes,  to  give  human  nature 
the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  The  flesh  may  inno- 
cently, nay,  perhaps  virtuously,  be  weak.  In  aU 
matters  which  He  beneath  the  surface,  God  alone 
is  judge.  If  a  church  steals,  and  slanders,  and  lies, 
and  backbites,  not  episodically,  by  an  individual 
here  and  there,  as  very  likely  most  churches  do, 
but  right  on,  steadily,  without  let  or  hinderance, 
we  cannot  help  supposing  it  to  be  cold  ;  but  so 
long  as  it  behaves  properly,  so  long  as  its  moraL 
are  piu'e,  we  cannot  say  that  its  heart  is  not  warm. 
Not  that  morality  is  all  that  there  is  of  religion,  — 
not  that  good  morals  are  the  whole  duty  of  man. 
It  is  perhaps   possible    to  be   quite  right  in   our 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         413 

relations  to  man,  and  quite  wrong  in  our  rela- 
tions to  God  ;  but  our  relations  to  God  lie  be- 
tween ourselves  and  God,  and  beyond  the  range 
of  others'  vision.  You  may  infer  that  the  Church, 
is  cold,  but  you  do  not  know  it,  and  it  is  often  in- 
ferred from  only  a  partial  consideration  of  facts  ; 
and  when  you  rise  in  your  place  and  affirm  your  in- 
ference as  a  fact,  you  are,  with  the  most  innocent, 
and  probably  the  most  laudable  intentions,  slan- 
dering the  Church.  Some  who  hear  you  know  it. 
They  know  that  they  are  neither  cold  nor  stupid. 
They  feel  the  love  of  Christ  shed  abroad  in  their 
hearts.  They  have  constant  communion  with  him. 
They  draw  their  life  from  him,  and  with  them 
your  sweeping  assertion  goes  for  nothing,  or  for 
something  very  different  from  what  you  intend. 
There  are  others  who  will  take  your  words  as  true. 
They  will  believe  and  lament  that  they  are  cold 
and  dead ;  yet,  should  you  ask  them  whether 
they  are  interested  in  the  spread  of  the  Gospel, 
whether  they  desire  for  their  children,  above  all 
things,  love  to  God,  whether  they  value  for  them- 
selves God's  approval  more  than  any  other  good, 
whether  they  endeavor  to  be  honest  towards 
all,  whether  they  really  try  to  do  their  best, 
wliether  they  are  sincerely  repentant  for  sin, 
whether  they  pray  every  day  for  pardon  and  sus- 
tenance,—  they  will  answer  you  unhesitatingly, 
heartily,  and  truly,  2/es.  Perhaps  they  do  not 
join  in  public  worship  so  often  as  you  think  they 


41 4         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

ought.  Perhaps  they  do  not  pray  in  the  syna- 
gogues with  much  fluency  and  unction.  Perhaps 
they  do  not  organize  benevolent  societies  so  heart- 
ily, or  sustain  them  so  wisely,  as  might  be  desired ; 
but  what  of  it?  Those  things  are  not  religion. 
They  may  be  only  a  screen  to  conceal  its  ab- 
sence. It  may  be  that  they  have  different  views 
from  yours  as  to  the  propriety  or  desirableness 
of  such  measures,  or  they  may  not  have  exec- 
utive ability,  or  there  may  be  no  leading  mind 
among  them  to  direct  their  piety  into  these  chan- 
nels. Let  a  man  who  knows  how  to  guide  men 
go  among  them,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  your 
cold,  dead  church  will  show  at  once  that  the 
sap  was  coursing  there  ;  for  leaf,  and  bud,  and 
blossom,  and  ripening  fruit,  will  attest  its  living 
and  life-giving  presence.  I  think  the  apparent 
coldness  of  the  churches  is  often  the  result  of 
mismanagement  on  the  part  of  leaders.  They  do 
not  take  hold  of  things  by  the  handle.  They 
do  not  get  any  purchase.  They  shoot  wide  of 
the  mark.  They  never  get  at  the  root  of  the 
matter.  Their  want  of  tact  and  skill  may  not  be 
their  fault ;  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  the  same 
incapacity  which  prevents  them  from  doing  the 
w^ork  prevents  them  also  from  seeing  that  it  is 
not  necessarily  the  fault  of  others. 

I  never  can  resist  the  temptation  to  take  up  thfe 
cudii^el  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  not  what 
George  Stephenson  called  the  "  gift  of  the  gab." 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         415 

It  seems  to  me,  sometimes,  that  nobody  in  the 
world  is  so  misunderstood  and  maligned  as  they. 
Strange  that  a  man  always  fluent,  and  ever  ready 
to  take  part  in  exhortation  and  prayer,  will  ac- 
quire in  a  month  a  reputation  for  active  piety 
which  a  man  just  as  pure  of  life,  but  without  his 
gifts,  will  acquire  only  after  the  lapse  of  years. 
It  is  quite  right  in  judging  a  man  to  be  a  warm- 
hearted Christian  so  far  as  he  talks  like  one, 
because  talking  is  one  kind  of  action,  —  one  of 
the  fruits  by  which  we  know  the  Christian,  and 
a  fruit  which  comes  to  maturity  sooner  than  any 
other,  and  will  of  course  receive  earliest  recogni- 
tion ;  but  it  is  wrong  to  go  beyond  this,  and  judge 
a  man  to  be  cold-hearted  because  he  lacks  this 
power  of  expression.  It  does  not  materially  alter 
the  case  if  he  says  so  himself.  Grind  it  into  a 
school-boy  that  he  is  stupid,  and  he  will  think 
he  is  stupid.  Christians  of  whom  the  world  was 
not  worthy  have  been  so  belabored,  so  often 
told  that  they  were  lukewarm  and  backward 
and  worldly  by  those  who  ought  to  have  known 
better,  so  sincerely  and  lugubriously  bemoaned 
over  by  those  who  did  not  know  better,  that 
they  came  to  believe  it  themselves,  against  the 
facts.  They  hear  a  person  speak  warmly,  elo- 
quently, and  impressively  of  religion.  They  can- 
not speak  so  themselves.  If  they  have  been 
brought  up  to  consider  that  the  dlfFerence  is  owing 
to  the  other  person's  superior  piety,  the  probability 
is  that  they  will  accept  the  statement. 


416         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

Mrs.  Stowe  says  that  her  Dr.  Hopkins  "  in 
general  viewed  himself  on  the  discouraging  side, 
and  had  berated  and  snubbed  himself  all  his  life  as 
a  most  flagitious  and  evil-disposed  individual,  —  a 
person  to  be  narrowly  watched,  and  capable  of 
breaking  at  any  moment  into  the  most  flagrant 
iniquity " ;  and  what  Mrs.  Stowe  said  playfully 
of  a  romance-hero  may  be  said  in  earnest  of  many 
a  living  Christian.  Many  honestly  seem  to  be- 
lieve it  to  be  a  Christian  duty  to  have  a  "  real 
mean  and  low  opinion  of  themselves."  There 
would  be  a  defect  in  their  orthodoxy  if  this  were 
not  the  case.  They  have  read  the  memoirs  of 
Brainerd,  and  Martyn,  and  Page,  and  Payson, 
and  David,  and  Paul,  and  they  think,  if  these  emi- 
nently holy  men  felt  such  an  abhorrence  of  them- 
selves, how  much  more  should  common  people, 
who  are  in  no  wise  eminent  for  holiness  ;  and 
having  decided,  or  rather  falling  into  the  opinion, 
that  they  ought  to  feel  as  deeply  and  deplore  as 
heartily  as  these  men  did,  it  is  not  hard  for  them 
to  believe  that  they  do  thus  feel,  and  can  sincerely 
thus  deplore  ;  and  consequently  they  fall  to  de- 
nouncing themselves  in  the  most  emphatic  terms. 
If  one  should  say  to  them  at  the  close  of  a  sum- 
mer's day  that  he  did  not  think  he  had  committed 
any  sin  through  that  day,  that  he  believed  God  was 
pleased  with  him,  that  he  had  done  nothing  that 
day  of  which  he  need  repent,  they  would  be  almost 
as  much  shocked  as  if  he  had  poured  out  a  volley 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         417 

of  oaths.  But  is  sucli  a  thing  beyond  the  limits 
of  possibiHty  ?  Is  God,  indeed,  so  hard  a  master 
that  Christians  of  five,  ten,  twenty  years'  standing 
cannot  pass  a  day  without  falling  under  his  wrath 
and  curse  ?  Or  is  Christianity  so  feeble  a  power, 
that,  after  eighteen  hundred  years  of  effort,  it  can- 
not bring  the  human  heart  and  the  human  life 
into  closer  hannony  with  the  Divine  ?  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed.  I  put  the  Brainerds  and  the 
Martyns  out  of  view.  They  were  men,  and  no 
inward  divine  impulse  kept  them  from  recording 
morbid  feelings  or  false  views.  Their  sorrows 
were  almost  entirely  for  intangible  sins,  —  sins 
which  lay  within  their  own  hearts,  and  of  which 
nobody  but  themselves  and  God  could  judge. 
Therefore  they  ought  never  to  have  been  spread 
before  the  world.  It  is  the  relation  between 
crime  and  penalty,  between  sin  and  sorrow, 
w^hich  it  behooves  men  to  know.  The  law  is  not 
magnified  by  publishing  the  punishment,  and  with- 
holding the  crime  for  which  the  punishment  was 
inflicted.  To  outward  observers,  the  sorrow  of 
these  men  was  out  of  all  proportion  to  their  sin  ; 
because  the  sin  was  of  such  a  nature  that  no  out- 
ward observer  could  judge  of  its  magnitude.  But 
with  the  Bible  people  the  case  is  clearer.  When 
St.  Paul  declared  himself  to  be  the  chief  of  sin- 
ners, he  gave  his  reasons  for  it,  —  reasons  intelli- 
gible to  every  one.  It  was  because  he  had  been 
a  blasphemer,  a  persecutor,  and  injurious.     We 

18*  AA 


418  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

are  distinctly  told  how  he  went  through  Judaea 
and  Samaria,  making  havoc  of  the  Church,  enter- 
ing into  every  house,  haling  men  and  women, 
and  committing  them  to  prison.  It  was  this 
persecution  of  the  Church  of  God  that  loomed 
up  ever  behind  him,  —  the  great  sin  of  his  life,  — 
that  made  him  in  his  own  eyes  unworthy  to  be 
called  an  Apostle.  But  I  think  no  one  can  read 
St.  Paul's  writings  with  the  same  candor  which 
he  brings  to  other  books,  without  seeing  that,  when 
Paul  speaks  of  his  sins,  he  is  thinking  of  what  he 
was  before  that  great  light  shone  upon  him  near 
Damascus.  We  are  not  left  in  doubt  as  to  his 
views  of  his  subsequent  character.  "  By  the 
grace  of  God  I  am  what  I  am."  "I  labored 
more  abundantly  than  they  all."  Very  little  self- 
denunciation  will  be  found  in  Paul  when  he  had 
ceased  to  be  Saul.  David  expresses  the  most  vile 
opinion  of  himself:  "Behold,  I  was  shapen  in 
iniquity  ;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me." 
Well  he  miglit,  after  the  commission  of  a  crime 
whose  greatness  was  only  paralleled  by  its  mean- 
ness ;  but  take  the  Psalms  through,  and  David 
seems  to  have  been  extremely  well  satisfied  with 
himself.  He  even  throws  himself  back  on  his  in- 
tegrity. He  prays  to  be  judged  according  to  his 
righteousness.  "My  defence,"  he  says,  "is  of 
God,  which  savetli  the  upright  in  hearth  "  The 
Lord  rewarded  me  according  to  my  righteousness  ; 
according  to   the  cleanness  of  my  hands  hath   he 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         419 

recompensed  me."  The  fact  is,  Paul  and  David, 
especially  Paul,  were  men  of  gi^and  good  sense. 
The  sins  that  they  talked  about  were  sins  that 
you  can  get  hold  of.  And  when  they  had  re- 
pented of  them,  and  were  forgiven,  they  let  the 
matter  rest.  They  did  not  quarrel  with  generah- 
ties.  They  were  not  continually  on  the  lookout 
against  themselves.  They  embraced  Christ  joy- 
fully, fought  the  Devil  within  and  without  man- 
fully, till  they  had  finished  their  course. 

Christ's  religion  is  an  efficient  agent.  His 
blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  When  he  told  the 
woman  to  go  and  sin  no  more,  he  did  not  tell 
her  to  do  what  she  had  not  moral,  natural,  and 
every  kind  of  ability  to  do.  When  he  bade  his 
disciples  to  be  perfect,  he  meant  so.  It  is,  it  must 
be,  just  as  possible  for  a  Christian  to  go  on  day 
after  day  without  offending  God,  as  it  is  for  a  son 
to  go  on  without  offending  his  father.  It  is  not 
pride  and  vainglory  to  assert  this.  It  is  a  rob- 
bing of  God  to  deny  it.  If  religion  cannot  do 
this,  certainly  religion  is  not  what  it  claims  to  be. 
Christ  came  to  save  this  people  from  their  sins. 
Is  his  arm  shortened  that  he  cannot  save  ?  O  ye 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  do  ye  doubt  ?  God  is 
not  a  hard  master.  He  claims  to  reap  only  where 
he  has  sowed.  He  comes  to  gather  in  only  the 
harvest  that  he  has  strewed.  His  yoke  is  easy, 
his  burden  is  light.  When  he  forgives,  he  for- 
gives wholly,  and  forever.     At  any  moment  we 


420  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

may  begin  T^ath  a  clean  record.  All  the  past  is 
cancelled.  He  will  never  again  bring  it  up  against 
us.  We  need  never  again  bring  it  up  against  our- 
selves,—never  at  all,  except,  as  Paul  did,  to  mag- 
nify the  grace  of  God.  Once  pronounced  "  not 
guilty  "  through  faith,  we  shall  never  be  prose- 
cuted on  the  same  indictment.  We  are  pure  and 
clean  in  the  blood  of  the  everlasting:  covenant. 
The  Christ  that  is  within  us  will  so  work  to  will 
and  to  do  God's  good  pleasure,  that  every  day 
and  hour  and  moment  may  be  bright  with  the 
Father's  smiles,  and  ring  with  his  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant !  " 

It  may  be  suggested  that  it  is  rather  late  to 
discover  that  men  are  apt  to  think  of  themselves 
less  highly  than  they  ought  to  think.  The  ten- 
dency has  been  generally  supposed  to  lie  in  the 
opposite  direction  ;  and  so  it  may.  That  is,  the 
assertion  may  be  true  of  human  nature  general- 
ly, and  yet  untrue  applied  to  certain  opinions  of 
a  certain  class  comprised  in  a  certain  other  class. 
Church-members  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  world, 
and  the  church-members  who  have  been  bred  to 
this  way  of  thinking  may  be  in  small  ratio  to  all 
the  church-members  in  the  world,  though  they 
are  numerous  in  certain  localities.  Moreover, 
all  the  people  who  hold  this  language  towards 
themselves  do  not  probably  rate  themselves  so 
low  as  their  words  indicate.  It  is  a  great  mis- 
take  to. suppose  that,  because  a  man  is  not  a  liar, 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KXOWLEDGE.        421 

he  always  speaks  the  troth.  Yery  few  people 
get  into  the  inside  of  words.  Expressions  of 
self-abasement  do  not  necessarily  imply  self-abase- 
ment. A  great  deal  will  be  gained  when  men 
shall  have  learned  to  say  exactly  what  they  mean, 
when  they  profess  to  mean  what  they  say.  Meu 
can  confess  that  they  are  great  sinners,  and  not 
feel  very  uncomfortable  about  it,  —  in  fact,  take 
considerable  satisfaction  in  it.  It  seems,  some- 
how, as  if  one  had  set  one's  self  right.  It 
takes  off  the  edge  of  all  censure.  I  have  heard  a 
good  many  public  confessions  of  s?n  that  bore  no 
signs  of  humiliation.  Of  course,  no  one  can  tell 
what  is  in  a  man's  heart ;  but  the  words  and  the 
manner  did  not  correspond.  For  a  sinner  is  a 
thousand  removes  from  a  rascal.  You  can  avow 
yourself  a  sinner  witliout  forfeiting  your  posi- 
tion in  church  or  society,  and  without  exciting 
suspicion  in  your  own  heart.  And  just  here  is 
one  of  the  evils  arising  from  this  wrong  way  of 
thinking  and  speaking.  A  legion  of  little  vices 
may  escape  unnoticed  under  cover  of  a  general 
confession,  or  even  sense,  of  unworthiness.  In  la- 
menting over  generalities,  we  pass  over  specialties. 
We  confess  sins,  but  forget  faults.  But  there  is 
no  such  thino;  as  abstract  sins.  There  is  no  such 
thins;  as  transo-resslncr  God's  law  without  doincr 
something.  Sinning  is  being  selfish,  stealing, 
cheating,  telling  lies,  slandering  people,  dawdling 
away  time,  eating  what  is  known  to  be  injurious, 


422  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

making  yourself  unnecessarily  disagreeable,  taking 
advantage  of  your  position  to  make  out  your  own 
case,  and  not  giving  your  opponent  any  chance 
for  a  hearing.  Sin  is  all  manner  of  meanness. 
Now  if,  wlien  people  make  a  public  confession  of 
sin,  they  would  confess  their  sins  as  Paul  did,  it 
might  be  of  service.  This  is  sometimes  done  in 
what  are  called  "  re^dvals,"  and  it  is  generally  ac- 
companied by  unmistakable  signs  of  contrition,  and 
followed  by  sincere,  and  often  successful,  efforts 
at  reformation.  I  would  suggest,  therefore,  that, 
when  church -members  lament  that  they  are  dead 
in  trespasses  and  sins  they  specify  the  particular 
sins  in  which  they  died.  So  their  death  may  serve 
as  a  warning  to  others. 

But  granting,  as  of  course  every  one  does,  that 
Christians  ought  not  to  express  emotions  which 
they  do  not  feel,  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
good  taste  would  allow  them  to  make  their  own 
righteousness  prominent.  But  if  good  taste  allows 
men  publicly  to  vilify  themselves,  I  do  not  see  why 
it  should  not  allow  them  publicly  to  justify  them- 
selves, —  especially  as  their  sins  are  their  own 
fault,  and  their  graces  are  the  gift  of  God.  It  is 
not  an  individual,  not  even  human  nature,  but  the 
plan  of  salvation,  that  is  on  trial.  Human  nature 
is  granted  on  all  sides  to  be  totally  or  partially  de- 
praved. Calvinists  and  Socinians  agree  in  this, 
that  a  child  left  to  himself  bringeth  his  mother  to 
shame.    The  point  to  be  decided  is,  whether,  when 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         423 

religion  is  brought  to  bear  upon  human  nature,  it 
is  strong  enough  to  rectify  human  nature.  There 
are  generally  many  present  at  prayer-meetings  who 
have  not  turned  their  feet  unto  the  testimonies  of 
God.  If  lamentation  and  reproaches  be  upper- 
most there,  will  not  these  people  say:  "  Of  what 
use  is  this  religion  that  they  talk  so  much  about  ? 
According  to  their  own  showing,  it  does  not 
seem  to  make  them  good,  and  we  are  not  any 
worse  than  bad.  We  may  as  well  wait  a  little 
longer." 

St.  Paul  again  stands  us  in  good  stead.  He 
does  not  like  to  speak  of  himself.  He  is  pro- 
fuse of  apologies  when  it  becomes  necessary.  As 
a  gentleman,  he  shrinks  from  displaying  a  per- 
sonal prominence  ;  but  since  the  truth  requires  it, 
he  comes  out  in  full  force.  His  native  modesty 
cannot  help  holding  back  a  little,  but  he  clenches 
the  fact  thoroughly  before  he  leaves  it.  He  who 
had  not  thought  himself  meet  to  be  called  an 
Apostle,  because  he  persecuted  the  Church  of  God, 
now  declares  himself  not  a  whit  behind  the  very 
chiefest  Apostles.  "  I  speak  as  a  fool,"  he  de- 
clares, half  indignant  at  being  forced  into  such  a 
positimi ;  "  but  I  will  say  the  truth,"  interposes  his 
sturdy  conscience.  "  I  am  become  a  fool  in  glo- 
rying," he  repeats  uneasily,  **  but  ye  have  com- 
pelled me  :  for  I  ought  to  have  been  commended 
of  you ;  for  in  nothing  am  I  behind  the  very 
chiefest  Apostles.    As  the  truth  of  Christ  is  in  me, 


424         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

no  man  shall  stop  me  of  this  boasting."  Why 
does  he  do  this?  Because  they  sought  a  proof 
of  Christ  speaking  in  him.  When  they  mistrusted 
him  he  asserted  himself,  and  this  self-assertion  was 
honoring  God.  He  assumed  to  be  the  accredited 
ambassador  of  Christ,  and  it  behooved  him  to 
show  that  the  grace  which  was  bestowed  upon  him 
was  not  in  vain.  "  I  labored  more  abundantly 
than  they  all ;  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  me."  So  should  we  fill  ourselves 
with  Christ,  that  we  be  not  tormented  with  a  per- 
petual self-consciousness.  When  one  feels  that 
any  part  of  his  own  history  or  experience  is  ne- 
cessary to  vindicate  truth,  and  glorify  God,  he 
should  declare  it  boldly,  honestly,  intelligibly, 
definitely,  as  Paul  did;  not  restrained  on  the  one 
side  by  a  false  delicacy,  nor  puffed  up  on  the 
other  by  a  presumptuous,  ignorant  conceit  of  self- 
riorhteousness.  And  when  the  interests  of  truth 
do  not  require  this,  he  should  hold  his  peace.  For 
my  part,  I  cannot  conceive  how  a  person  who  has 
any  consciousness  of  sin  or  of  sinfulness  can  ever 
talk  about  it. 

But  take  things  at  their  worst.  Suppose  a 
church  is  cold,  what  is  the  good  of  saying  so  ? 
Few  things  so  lower  the  mercury  at  a  prayer- 
meeting  as  the  doleful  periods  of  a  doleful  man, 
— "  church  cold  and  stupid,"  "  ways  of  Zion 
mourn,"  "  few  come  to  her  solemn  feasts,"  "  left 
her    first   love,"   "  sluggish    and    worldly."     The 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         ^"16 

very  thought  of  it  is  chilling.  Suppose  you  are 
cold,  is  melancholy  the  only  resource  ?  What 
does  a  man  do  when  he  is  cold  ?  He  bestirs 
himself,  goes  to  the  fire,  rubs  his  hands,  stamps 
his  feet,  chops  wood,  walks  briskly,  till  vigor- 
ous blood  leaps  along  his  veins,  and  every  finger- 
end  tingles.  Go  ye  and  do  likewise.  The  very 
fact  that  few  are  present  makes  it  the  more 
necessary  that  the  meeting  should  be  interesting 
and  inviting,  in  order  that  those  few  may  come  the 
next  time,  and  pei'haps  bring  a  few  more  with 
them.  The  worldliness  of  the  church  is  very 
indifferent  fare  to  those  who  attend  its  gatherings. 
If  they  are  to  have  nothing  better  to  feed  on  than 
their  own  husks,  they  might  as  well  stay  at  home  ; 
and  they  probably  will.  No.  If  you  are  cold, 
or  the  church  is  cold,  do  not  mention  it.  You 
will  only  freeze  the  harder.  Begin  and  do  some- 
thing to  get  warm.  Read  the  Bible.  Pray 
more.  Pray  definitely.  Do  not  pray  so  much 
for  things  in  general.  Do  not  repent  of  your 
worldliness,  but  repent  that  you  dropped  a  three- 
cent-piece  into  the  contribution-box  when  your 
income  would  have  allowed  a  dime,  and  be  sure 
to  put  in  seventeen  cents  the  next  time.  Choose 
some  person  to  pray  for,  for  a  limited  time,  and 
then  choose  another,  and  be  on  the  lookout  for  a 
chance  to  influence  those  persons  in  other  wavs. 
Organize  a  missionary  society,  or  a  Sunday-school 
class.     Think  of  something  pleasant,  or  soothing, 


426         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

or  encouraging,  or  warning,  to  say  to  stray  souls. 
Find  out  the  old  people,  and  the  poor  people,  and 
the  blind  people,  and  the  drunken  people,  and  the 
suspicious  people,  and  the  sorrowful  people,  and 
get  hold  of  them.  Tell  stories  to  the  children, 
make  the  overtasked  man  laugh,  smuggle  thoughts 
into  empty  heads,  and  reflections  into  careless 
hearts,  and  do  not  go  about  shivering.  There  are 
a  thousand  ways  to  get  warm,  and  remember  that 
heat  always  seeks  an  equihbrium.  If  you  are 
cold  you  will  cool  others,  and  if  you  are  warm  you 
w411  set  others  aglow.  If  you  have  been  guilty  of 
public  sins,  confess  them,  and  see  to  it  that  you 
forsake  them.  If  you  feel  called  upon  to  illus- 
trate the  loving-kindness,  the  boundless  mercy  of 
Christ  by  a  relation  of  any  part  of  your  private 
liistory,  do  it  modestly  and  quietly.  Remem- 
ber that  at  best  you  speak  as  a  fool,  and  that 
your  only  plea  can  be  Paul's,  "  Yet  as  a  fool  re- 
ceive me." 

And  whether  you  confess  open  or  hidden  tres- 
passes, and  whenever  you  speak  of  a  state  of  heart 
opposed  to  God,  be  sure  you  do  it  in  the  past 
tense.  Why  ?  Because  at  the  time  you  speak, 
you  have,  of  course,  stopped  sinning.  If  you 
have  not,  why  are  you  talking  ?  Do  you  mean 
to  confess  sins  in  wdiich  you  still  indulge  ?  By  no 
means.  It  is  he  that  confesseth  and  forsaketh  his 
sins  that  shall  find  mercy.  You  ivere  a  thief,  you 
were  a   drunkcird,  you  did  shave  notes,  you   did 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         427 

backbite  your  superiors,  but  you  do  it  no  longer. 
When  you  are  thoroughly  warmed,  you  can,  if 
you  choose,  say  that  you  were  cold.  After  God 
has  quickened  you,  you  may  thankfully  admit  that 
you  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  But  when 
you  address  your  brethren,  be  guileless.  You  can 
be.  Forgiveness  is  entire.  However  wicked  you 
may  have  been,  begin  at  once  to  be  good,  and  if 
you  do  not  wholly  succeed  at  the  first  trial,  be  as 
good  as  you  can  be.  Extol  the  goodness  of  God. 
Men  are  far  more  easily  moved  to  virtue  by  a 
good  example,  than  repelled  from  vice  by  a  bad. 
They  are  far  more  apt  to  emulate  the  good,  than 
to  shun  the  evil.  Look  on  the  encouraging  side 
of  things.  Point  out  the  hopeful  signs.  Exalt 
man's  capabilities  ;  in  so  doing  you  exalt  God,  his 
maker.  Magnify  his  office  ;  to  God  is  all  the 
glory.  Take  him  at  his  highest,  and  he  will  press 
on  to  grander  heights.  Draw  him  from  the  front, 
as  Eastern  shepherds  draw  their  flocks,  and  do 
not  always  drive  him  from  behind.  "Allure  to 
brighter  worlds,  and  lead  the  way."  If  you  must 
record  your  sorrow,  record  at  the  same  time  your 
joy.  Let  God's  abundant  mercy  overshine  and 
dazzle  away  your  guilt.  Let  every  tear  be  rain- 
bowed  in  smiles.  Let  every  "  Alas  !  Master," 
have  its  "  Hallelujah  !  "  Be  full  of  gratitude,  and 
trust,  and  love,  and  life.  Be  helpful,  and  hopeful, 
and  lusty,  and  cheery.  So  shall  not  only  your  soul 
be  filled  with  a  joy  that  no  man  can  take  from 


428         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

you,  but  tlie  cold  church  around  you  will  insensi- 
bly and  surely  melt  away  in  this  new  light  and 
warmth  which  you  diffuse,  and  where  it  stiffened, 
a  new  temple  shall  arise  whose  Holy  of  Holies  will 
enshrine  the  sacred  fire  forever. 

Besides  these  words  of  self-depreciation,  there 
are  words  of  comfort  spoken  so  without  knowledge 
that  they  irritate  rather  than  console.  Their  com- 
fort is  founded  on  measurements.  Good  people 
see  men  unhappy,  and  they  undertake  to  demon- 
strate that  such  unliappiness  is  unreasonable  and 
ungrateful,  because  there  are  so  many  more  happy 
circumstances  in  life  than  there  are  unhappy  ones. 
"  Reckon  up  your  blessings,"  they  say,  "  see  how 
greatly  they  outnumber  your  annoyances,  and 
cease  to  be  annoyed.  Count  the  gifts  that  have 
been  bestowed  upon  you,  and  be  ashamed  that  you 
are  so  distressed  because  one  or  two  things  go 
wrong." 

This  may  be  unanswerable  in  point  of  fact,  but 
men  and  women,  especially  women,  will  never  be 
happy  because  it  is  proved  in  a  syllogism  that 
they  ought  to  be  happy.  The  theory  may  look 
well  on  paper,  and  trip  smoothly  from  the  tongue, 
but  the  moment  it  is  set  to  work,  it  will  get  out 
of  gear. 

For  evil  and  good  are  not  commensurate.  Their 
power  bears  no  proportion  to  their  bulk.  A  little 
evil  may,  from  the  nature  of  things,  not  from  the 
ingratitude  of  man,  neutralize  a  great  good.     It 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         429 

may  be  demonstrably  true,  that  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  circumstances  that  surround  a  man  are 
pleasant,  yet  one  unpleasant  one  shall  invalidate 
them  all,  —  not  because  he  perversely  refuses  to 
recognize  the  pleasure,  but  because  the  pain  is 
more  penetrative  and  more  diffasive.  A  man  has 
a  faithful  wife,  noble  children,  honor,  and  health, 
and  wealth,  —  but  one  wayward  son,  whose  life  is 
a  constant  shame  and  terror,  embitters  this  para- 
dise. He  has  more  power  to  make  miserable  than 
all  the  rest  have  to  make  happy.  He  poisons 
the  very  fountain  of  happiness.  Even  a  much 
smaller  evil  may  work  oblivion  of  good.  A  severe 
attack  of  toothache  will  make  a  man  for  a  time 
indifferent  to  every  advantage.  One  little  tooth 
is  ridiculous,  when  compared  with  houses  and 
lands  and  influences,  but  one  little  tooth  disturbed 
will  assert  its  claims  with  a  pertinacity  that  insures 
more  attention  than  ambition  or  love  can  secure. 
A  single  spot  on  a  coat  spoils  the  coat,  though 
not  one  twentieth  as  large.  An  unseen  worm 
bores  an  insignificant  hole  in  the  ship's  side,  —  in- 
significant compared  with  the  uninjured  portion, — 
but  the  defect  is  stronger  than  the  strength,  and 
overpowers  it;  and  the  grand  and  stately  ship 
goes  staggering  down  into  the  black  waters.  So 
in  character,  a  man  may  be  loyal,  benevolent,  and 
intelligent,  yet  so  peevish,  fi-etful,  or  suspicious, 
that  his  society  is  disagreeable,  or  he  may  be  so 
self-conceited  as  to  forfeit  respect,  or  so  uncleanly 


430  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

and  uncouth  as  to  be  justly  outlawed.  One  evil 
expands  itself,  and  usurps  the  place  of  much  good. 
One  vice  swallows  up  a  thousand  virtues. 

There  is  a  Divine  recoo-nition  of  this  fact  in  the 
Apostle  James's  assertion,  "  For  whosoever  shall 
keep  the  whole  law,  and  jet  offend  in  one  point, 
he  is  guilty  of  all." 

Therefore,  all  comfort  based  on  the  ratio  of 
good  and  evil  is  futile.  It  is  founded  on  a  fal- 
lacy, and  when  the  waves  of  sorrow  dash  against 
it,  its  fall  is  certain.  It  will  do  tolerably  so 
long  as  we  are  not  in  trouble,  but  when  trouble 
comes,  it  is  nothing,  and  worse  than  nothing, 
and  vanity  —  not  to  say  exasperation.  You  get 
small  relief  from  the  man  who  says,  "  You  have 
a  felon  on  your  hand,  to  be  sure,  but  you  have 
money  and  fame  and  troops  of  friends,  and  you 
ought  not  to  mind  it."  Nor  is  it  any  comfort 
to  compare  your  trouble  with  somebody  else's 
greater.  A  pin  does  not  prick  you  any  more 
gently  and  agreeably  because  your  neighbor  has 
had  his  arm  cut  off.  The  two  hundred  dollars' 
rent  which  your  tenant  cheats  you  out  of,  is  just 
as  much  a  loss  to  you  as  if  your  friend  had  not 
been  cheated  out  of  bis  whole  fortune.  You  may 
be  glad  that  you  are  not  in  his  place,  but  it  does 
not  make  your  place  any  pleasanter. 

Sorrow  is  to  be  recognized  as  sorrow.  Nothing 
is  gained  by  arguing  it  out  of  the  way.  It  is  pre- 
supposing and  fostering  an  unmanly  weakness,  to 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         431 

assume  that  a  man  cannot  bear  whatever  burden 
God  imposes  upon  him,  but  must  be  cajoled  into 
the  belief  that  it  is  not  much  of  a  burden,  before 
he  will  undertake  it.  A  man  loses  his  property. 
It  is  true  that  he  has  wife  and  children,  health  and 
honor  left,  and  these  are  much  ;  but  the  loss  of 
property  is  a  great  loss.  Money  commands  time 
and  space.  Money  brings  beauty  and  elegance 
and  comfort  and  culture.  Money  means  eyes 
to  the  blind,  and  feet  to  the  lame,  and  warmth 
to  the  chilled,  and  clothes  to  the  naked,  and  hope 
to  the  despairing,  and  strength  to  the  weak ; 
and  the  man  who  loses  this  has  met  with  a  se- 
vere loss. 

But  the  comfort  lies  not  veiy  much  in  pointing 
out  what  he  has  left,  —  for  he  had  all  those  before 
he  lost  anything,  —  but  in  remembering  that  God, 
in  whose  hand  our  breath  is,  and  whose  are  all  our 
ways,  appoints  to  every  man  his  lot,  and  all  things 
—  pain,  sickness,  weariness,  poverty,  length  of 
days,  riches,  and  honor  —  all  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God.  He  could,  if  he 
had  chosen,  make  every  man  great  and  rich  and 
powerful.  That  he  has  not  done  this,  proves  that 
he  did  not  will  to  do  it.  We  feel  that,  if  we  were 
rich,  or  eloquent,  or  self-possessed,  we  could  do  a 
great  deal  more  good  than  we  can  now,  but  our 
very  weaknesses  may,  and  should,  become  "  nim- 
ble servitors  to  do  His  will."  The  chosen  path  is 
barred  to  our  eao;er  feet.     One  obstacle  stands  in 


o 


432  WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

the  way  of  success.  A  single  circumstance,  small 
but  not  slight,  forces  us  from  the  life  that  we  like 
to  the  one  we  do  not  like.  One  drop  of  sour  spoils 
the  whole  cup  of  sweet.  But  it  is  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  means  us  only  good.  Fortitude  may  be  as 
heroic  'as  courage.  Patience  is  as  sublime  as 
strength.  "  They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and 
wait."  "  Knowledge  by  suffering  entereth."  In 
the  immovable  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow,  or  in  the 
flickering  shade  of  many  little  sorrows,  all  virtue 
may  flourish.  The  utmost  grandeur  of  character 
may  be  attained  by  uncomplaining,  not  stoical, 
submission  to  the  Divine  will.  Alone  with  sor- 
row, alone  with  trial,  man  communes  with  his 
Maker,  and  finds  his  grace  sufficient.  From  the 
grave  of  a  dead  hope  we  may  rise  to  newness  of 
life.  From  a  disappointed  ambition  we  may  work 
out  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory.  There  is  no  strength  like  the  strength 
of  him  who  has  breasted  his  disappointments 
and  overcome  them,  —  whose  feet  are  planted 
upon  the  wrecks  of  his  own  plans,  and  whose 
eyes  are  lifted  unto  the  hills,  whence  help  com- 
eth. 

We  are  told  by  naturalists  that  the  tones  of  birds 
seem  to  indicate  a  certain  degree  of  discontent ; 
that  "  the  almost  uninterrupted  song  of  caged  birds 
proves  their  singing  to  be  no  certain  evidence  of 
happiness.  It  is  well  known  that,  when  an  old  bird 
from  our  own  fields  is  caught  and  caged,  he  will 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         433 

continue  his  tunefulness  long  after  all  others  of  the 
same  species,  who  enjoy  their  freedom,  have  be- 
come silent." 

This  is  a  not  inapt  illustration  of  the  workings 
of  the  human  soul.  Some  of  the  finest  produc- 
tions of  genius  have  been  born  of  a  grief  that  tra- 
vailed in  anguish,  waiting  deliverance.  It  was 
"  in  the  narrow  chamber  of  his  neglected  old  age," 
hiding  from  a  hostile  king,  shut  out  from  the  light 
of  the  happy  sun,  that  the  eyes  of  Milton  opened 
upon  the  glories  of  Paradise,  and  there  burst  from 
his  tranced  lips  "  a  sevenfold  chorus  of  hallelujahs 
and  harping  symphonies."  Still,  with  a  grand 
organ-roll,  the  echoes  of  that  solemn  song  sweep 
down  the  corridors  of  time,  nor  shall  any  age  be 
found  so  base  as  to  close  its  ear  to  that  Heav- 
enly Muse  which  erst  did  soar  above  the  Aonian 
Mount. 

Cowper's  life  was  one  long  pang.  The  cloud 
hovered  over  his  infancy,  deepened  and  darkened 
above  his  manhood,  and  settled  around  his  dying 
bed  with  an  impenetrable  gloom.  Occasional  rifts 
show  how  brilliant  was  the  light  beyond,  but  never 
its  silver  lining  was  turned  towards  him  ;  and 
Death  came,  no  King  of  Terrors,  but  a  divine 
messenger,  at  whose  word 

"  Heaven  opened  wide 
Her  ever-during  gates." 

Now  in  a  million  hearts  the  songs  that  warbled 

19  BB 


434         WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE. 

up  from  this  breaking  heart  awake  an  answering 
thrill,  and  the  prayer  of  all  sighing  souls  is  voiced 
in  that  mournful  lyre, 

•'  0  for  a  closer  walk  with  God, 
A  calm  and  heavenly  frame, 
A  light  to  shine  upon  the  road 
That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb  !  '* 

Thus  it  has  been,  and  thus  it  shall  be  under  the 
sun.  It  is  the  crushed  grape  that  gives  out  the 
blood-red  wine.  It  is  the  suffering  soul  that 
breathes  the  sweetest  melodies.  That  Holy  Life 
which  eighteen  hundred  years  ago  lit  up  forever- 
more  this  valley  of  shadows,  was  exceeding  sor- 
rowful, even  unto  death.  The  Blessed  One  trod 
the  wine-press  alone.  From  an  agony  into  which 
mortal  eyes  may  never  look  rang  out  the  new 
song  of  peace  on  earth,  good-will  to  men.  Ever 
since,  as  ever  before,  the  voice  of  humanity  is  a 
loud  and  bitter  cry.  Genius  smites  his  harp  to 
relieve  the  unsatisfied  want  of  his  soul.  His  verse 
is  tremulous  with  gathered  tears. 

Fear  not,  Httle  flock.  It  is  your  Father's  good 
pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom.  Somewhere, 
and  at  some  time,  the  redeemed  soul  shall  realize 
its  loftiest  conception,  —  nay,  rather,  the  truth 
shall  transcend  his  idea ;  for  eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man,  the  things  which  God  hath  pre- 
pared for  them  that  love  him.  The  white  blos- 
soms   of  hope  shall    then    ripen   to  purple   fruit- 


WORDS  WITHOUT  KNOWLEDGE.         435 

age,  and   the  full   soul  shall  bask    in    the    glory 
of  her  God. 

"  The  poet  now  hath  entered  in 
The  place  of  rest  which  is  not  sin. 

"  And  while  he  rests,  his  songs,  in  troops, 
Walk  up  and  down  our  earthly  slopes, 
Companioned  by  diviner  hopes. 

"  '  Glory  to  God  —  to  God  ! '  he  saith  : 
Knowledge  by  suffering  entereth  ; 
And  life  is  perfected  by  Death  !  " 


Cambridge  :  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co 


